The Ministry of Finance is expecting the Council of Europe’s approval of the draft new law on local public finances. The document was worked out by the Ministry with the assistance of NGOs from the Alliance for Decentralization. The local public authorities pronounced on the bill at three public debates, Info-Prim Neo reports. The draft law proposes establishing direct relations between the state budget and the local budgets of all levels and a common method for calculating the sums transferred from the state budget to the local budgets. Minister of Finance Mariana Durlesteanu said that after the Council of Europe gives its approval, the bill be additionally discussed with the local public authorities and the involved NGOs. “It is very important that this new law on the local public finances offers independence to the local public authorities in managing revenues and encourages them to increase the fiscal basis by developing zonal entrepreneurship. On the other hand, the law should not create impediments to the existent system,” the minister said. Mariana Durlesteanu also said that the Ministry of Finance wants to open a finance management and training center not only for the employees of the Ministry’s subdivisions, but for all those that participate in the fulfillment of the budget. The village headmen should be taught how to make a business plan, how to attract investments to a given settlement and how to correctly and efficiently use the owned patrimony. “This fact would allow us to improve the management of public finances. Besides, we hope to strengthen the relationships with the local public administrations and with the field financial specialists by implementing a modern unified information system for managing public finances. The system will be created as part of the Public Finance Management Project that is supported by the World Bank and our British and Swedish partners,” the minister said.