site.bta29 Countries, Including Bulgaria, Sign the Ghent Declaration

In Ghent, Belgium, 29 countries signed the Ghent Declaration on Tuesday, including Bulgaria. These countries will strive to build public administrations that better represent society, implement data-driven policies, and balance internal and external staff. Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter was the organizer of the EU-level meeting.

The countries that signed the Ghent Declaration are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

The total number of people employed in the central public administrations of these countries is about nine million civil servants. The goal is to help them formulate policies based on reliable data, by consistently involving researchers and experts. In addition, participating countries hope that administrations will better reflect the diversity of society, as well as monitor the balance between internal and external service.

The declaration was also signed by European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn and European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira.