OVERVIEW
OF EU-MOLDOVA ACTION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
(February 2005-November 2007)
SUMMARY
2.1 Political dialogue and reforms
Strengthening of the stability and effectiveness of institutions guaranteeing democracy andthe rule of law
Reform of the judiciary
Fight against corruption
Human rights and fundamental freedoms
Consolidation of the political dialogue and the cooperation in the field of external and security issues
Regional cooperation
2.2 Co-operation for the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict
2.3. Economic and social reform and development
Improvement of Welfare
Social aspects
Macroeconomic aspects (sustained economic growth, consolidation of public finance and debt sustainability)
Functioning Market Economy
2.4. Trade-related issues, market and regulatory reform
Movement of goods
Trade Relations
Right of establishment and Company Law
Movement of persons
Other issues
Small and Medium Enterprises
2.5. Cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs
Migration
State border management
Combating organized crime
Fight against drug trafficking
Fight against money laundering
Police and judicial co-operation
2.6 Transport, energy, telecommunications, environment, and Research, development and innovation
Transport
Energy
Environment
Information Society
Chapter 2.7 People-to-people contacts
2.1 Political dialogue and reforms
Strengthening of the stability and effectiveness of institutions guaranteeing democracy andthe rule of law
The whole national legislation, adopted by the Parliament during the years 2005-2007 was submitted to the expertise of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission, OSCE/BIDO, in order to ensure that legislative and constitutional reforms are performed according to the European standards (the recommendations of the Council of Europe).
The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova implemented the recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe regarding the parliamentary reform and parliamentary immunity by adopting the amendments on Rules of Procedure (the Law No. 430-XVI from December, 27 2006).
Parliamentary elections from March, 6 2005 were qualified by international observers of the OSCE/BIDO, Council of Europe, and the European Union as correct and democratic ones, according to the international standards.
In order to implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission and of the observation mission for polls OSCE/BIDO, the Parliament adopted several modifications to the Election Code, the last one being introduced on July, 21 2006.
As a step forward in implementing the administrative reform and consolidating of the local administration, a new Ministry of Local Public Administration was created in June, 2006.
Moreover, a number of legislative acts were adopted in order to bring the national legislation in accordance with the European standards, and especially with the recommendations of the Local and Regional Congress of the Council of Europe regarding the local democracy in Moldova, namely the Law regarding administrative decentralization, the Law regarding local public administration (new edition), the Law regarding the modification and completion of several legislative acts (regarding local public finances), the Law regarding regional development in the Republic of Moldova.
In order to raise the level of professionalism of local civil servants the National Strategy of training of civil servants and local elected persons was adopted by the decision of the Government No. 31 from January, 11 2007.
Reform of the judiciary
In order to increase the effectiveness of the independence of the judicial system, a series of amendments to the national legislation were introduced and followed up by implementing activities. Thus, by the lawNo. 174-XVI from 22 June 2005 and the law No.247-XIV from 21 July 2006, relevant amendments were done so as to insure the organization and functioning of the judicial system in the Republic of Moldova in line with European standards. The introduced amendments reflect the following recommendations of the European Council and of the provisions of the European Charter on the statute for judges, which, inter alia, were:
-to exclude the age limit for judge appointment;
-mandatory audio and video recording of all law courts sessions;
-to establish the random principle in distributing cases;
-to increase transparency in the appointment of judges by periodical publication of data regarding the existing vacancies, including the way/conditions of the selection procedures (in Monitorul Oficial and on the web site of the Supreme Court of Justice);
-to establish the possibility of decisions to be adopted by the Supreme Council of the Magistrates by majority vote of all the members. Publication of the adopted decisions and of the activity reports;
-to create the possibility to appeal the Superior Council of Magistrates decisions in Judicial Instances;
The legislative amendments and their further implementation were done with the support of the Joint Programme of the European Commission and the Council of Europe“Democratic reforms’ enforcement 2004-2006”.
Moreover, in order to assure the sustainability of the judiciary reform, a Strategy for the consolidation of the judicial system was developed and adopted by the decision of the Parliament No. 174-XVI from July,19 2007.
An important step in guarantying the independence of the judicial system refers to the foundation of the National Institute of Justice, which since January 1 2007, has already began its activity based on the studies programme for the first trimester 2007. The programme was approved by the Superior Council of the Magistrate and will be the main instrument in providing the continuous professional training of the judges and prosecutors, as well as other judicial professionals.
The Judicial Inspection was set up under the auspices of the Superior Council of Magistrates.
A Center for Legal Harmonization began its activity, in August 2007 when the National Plan for Legal Harmonization was adopted.
On May the 15th 2007, the Government approved the Decision No. 670 regarding establishment of the Department for Judicial Administration. Also in accordance with this decision, the Ministry of Justice elaborated the Rules regarding the organization, functioning and the structure of the Department of Judicial Administration.
In order toreform the Prosecutor’s Office according to the recommendations of the Council of Europe, three laws were drafted by the experts of the Prosecutor Office and the Council of Europe (regarding the organisation of the General Prosecutor’s Office, the statute of the Prosecutor and the Superior Council of Prosecutors).
These draft laws are stipulating:
-the establishment of the Superior Council of Prosecutors, to guarantee the independence of the General Prosecutor’s Office.
-the designation of the prosecutors, according to art.125, p.2 of the Constitution, by the General prosecutor on the proposal from the Superior Council of Prosecutors.
-the revision of sanctioning measures of the prosecutors for breach of laws, by the General prosecutor with the agreement of the Superior Council of Prosecutors,
-the establishment of the disciplinary Council near the Superior Council of Prosecutors in view of examining the disciplinary cases and of proposing the disciplinary sanctions of the prosecutors,
-the right of the prosecutor to contest the sanctioning decision in court, etc.
In view of developing alternative ways of settlement of cases, the law on mediation and on probation will in the near future be adopted by the Parliament, particularly in its autumn-winter session 2007.
For the amendment of the system of arbitration instances, a working group was established for the revision of the legislation. As a result two drafts have been elaborated:
- the draft law on arbitration (replacing the previous law);
- the draft law on International Trade Arbitration
Fight against corruption
A number of priority actions are undertaken in view of implementing the commitments assumed related to GRECO.
The implementation of the National Strategy on the Prevention and Combating of Corruption started two years ago. In this process both public authorities and the civil societyare involved. The results of this activity are regularly presented to public debate, thus two annual anticorruption conferences have been already organized. The reports on the implementation of the Strategy for 2005 and 2006 can be found on the web page of the Centre of Combating the Organized Crimes and Corruption.
The Action Plan for the realization of the National Anticorruption Strategy for 2007-2009 includes concrete measures, with the specification of the responsible institutions and period of implementation. The activities for realization are concentrated on the amendment of the legislation, professional formation and elaboration of new directory lines of activity and principles regarding certain aspects of prevention and combating corruption.
On the 10 of January 2006 the Anticorruption Alliance was created, an association which comprise non governmental associations, with the aim to contribute to the reduction of corruption, by direct involvement in the prevention activity of corruption. At the moment of creation, the Alliance was numbering 10 NGOs, presently the number increased to 29.
Consequently, on 13 of January 2006 the Agreement of collaboration between the Centre of Combating the Organized Crimes and Corruption and the Anticorruption Alliance was signed in view of promoting and realizing jointly the anticorruption activities.
Human rights and fundamental freedoms
The National Human Rights Action Plan for 2004-2008 (NHRAP) has been implemented with the support of UNDP Moldova, and monitoring of the implementation process is performed by the National Coordinator of the NHRAP, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee. Information about the NHRAP implementation support project can be found at
The Republic of Moldova adhered/ratified the following international treaties: CCPR-OP2-DP, CEDAW-OP, CAT-OP, and adopted Declarations to Art.21 and Art.22 of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
With a view of creating a national mechanism to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, there was elaborated a draft Law on Amendment of Article 2 from the Law on Parliamentary Ombudsmen No.1349-XIII as of September 17, 1997, and the draft Parliament Decision on Amendment of art. 7 from Regulation on Human Rights Center, approved by the Parliament Decision No. 1484-XIII as of February 5, 1998.
The Law No. 29-XVI as of 22.02.2007 ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, child prostitution and child pornography (in the framework of the UN). Currently, the draft law on modification of the national legislation to comply with this Protocol is being examined by the Parliament.
In February 2006, the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers was ratified.
Monitoring of the implementation of core UN Conventions is on-going, particularly as regards international treaties on human rights related to persons belonging to national minorities, functioning of languages, fulfillment of the principle of equity and non-discrimination of any kind.
In the course of implementation is the Second Opinion of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (as of December 9, 2004) and the Second Resolution Res CMN (2005)8 of the Committee of Ministers on implementation of provisions from the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by the Republic of Moldova (as of December 7, 2005), which contain recommendations for central and local governments with regard to application of provisions from the Framework Convention and improvement of the situation with the national minorities.
The Law on Religious Cults and Component Parts Thereof was adopted on May 112007.
In December 2004, with a view of ensuring effective and integral execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), a permanent Commission was created to monitor the manner of execution of the ECHR judgments, of individual and general measures. The Commission adopts binding decisions.
The ECHR judgments pronounced forcases where the Republic of Moldova is represented as defendant, are placed on the web-site Also, substantive summaries of the ECHR judgments are published in the Official Monitor in two languages.
The Law on State-Guaranteed Legal Assistance, No.198.was adopted on July 26, 2007.
In December 2005, Republic of Moldova acceded to the Additional protocol to the Convention of elimination of all forms of discrimination towards women (CEDAW), adopted in New York on October 6 1999.
On February 9 2006, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted the Law No. 5-XVI regarding the assurance of equal chances for women and men, which stipulates the equal rights for women and men in the political, economic, social and cultural fields, etc.
Fight against the trafficking in human beings
The actions in this policy field are targeted towards:
- assurance of implementation of the Law on Prevention and Fight Against Trafficking in Human Beings, No. 241 – XVI din 21.11.05, by implementing plans for prevention and fight against trafficking in human beings.
- development of the international legal framework in this field.
- establishment of a dialogue with the civil society about prevention and fight against trafficking in human beings:
- improvement of the mechanisms of guarantees and protection for witnesses.
The first draft of Regulation on Procedure of Repatriation of Victims of Trafficking has been elaborated in accordance with provisions of the Law on Prevention and Fight Against Trafficking in Human Beings.
Eradication of ill-treatment and torture
With a view of improving the national mechanism of processing the reported cases of ill-treatment of detainees, the following reforms have been implemented:
- implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified by the Republic of Moldova (Law No. 66-XVI as of March 30, 2006), by creating, on July 26, 2007, a new national instance for examination of cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Law No. 200-XVI and Law No. 201-XVI). Thus, the Human Rights Center (parliamentary ombudsman) has the authority to examine such cases.
- as to ensure observance of provisions of article 5 of the European Convention for Human Rights, in July 2006, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted modifications to the Criminal Procedure Code, which envisage the decrease of the pre-trial detention period.
On June 30, 2005, the Law No. 139-XVI on amendment of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova was adopted. A new article (No. 3091 „Torture”) was introduced, as required by provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Particular attention was paid to:
- assurance of implementation of the Criminal Code provisions with regard to fight against tortures:
- training in the field of fight against ill-treatment by police employees involved in administration of places of detention, and organization of training courses to present issues specific to human rights, in compliance with the EU and international standards
Children rights
In the framework of the round table organized on the 12 of September 2007, with participation of experts from the UNICEF, as well from the Centre for Human Rights and the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights took part, it was decided to create the organization “Child’s Lawyer”,
An evaluation study of the residential institutions from Moldova in view of re-organizing the system of protection of the child was carried out and it was approved the national Strategy and the Action Plan regarding the reform of the residential system of child care for 2007-2012.
Relevant amendments were done to the Family Code improving the prescriptions regarding protection of the child that has development deficiencies or social ones through the trusteeship of guardianship.
Freedom of expression
On the 27 of July 2006, the Parliament, after consulting the civil society and mass media, as well taking into account the recommendations of the experts from the Council of Europe and OSCE, adopted the Audiovisual Code.
In conformity with the provisions of the Audiovisual Code, the Coordination Council of Audiovisual (CCA) elaborated its own statute and organization structure, including monitoring territorial structures consequently approved through the Decision of the Parliament of the Moldova on December 28 2006. CCA elaborated recommendations regarding the activity of the radiobroadcasters established and financed by local public authorities. Following public debates, the Regulation regarding the implementation of the Audiovisual Code was elaborated.
During the last years, the Government, in partnership with civil society from Moldova and certain EU Member States, particularly from the Baltic States, has implemented a number of concrete projects in view of developing the mass media in Moldova.
The draft of the constitutional law has been elaborated in view of modifying art. 32 (3), which ensures a larger freedom of expression related to political issues, being thus more compatible with the constitutional text, art. 10 of the ECHR regarding the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Respect of association and support of the development of the civil society
The draft law on assemblies had been elaborated and is now being examined both by public authorities and civil society.
The Law of the public associations was modified according the Recommendations of the Council of Europe.
A number of public institutions signed memorandums of cooperation with civil society partners.
The Ministry of Justice organized a round table “Cooperation with the civil society”, where the draft Government Decision regarding the Board of consultation with the civil society was discussed. It is envisaged that this institutions will be a consultative one, (i.e. without legal statute) and it will function by the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova. It will facilitate the communication and involvement of the civil society in the public administration activity.
Consolidation of the political dialogue and the cooperation in the field of external and security issues
In the context of the Decision of the Council of the EU from June 13, 2005, the Republic of Moldova benefits of the possibility to align to the common positions and declarations of the EU in the CFSP areaand only in some caseson the case by case basis.
Regional cooperation
Following the accession to the Stability Pact for the South Eastern Europe in 2001, the Republic of Moldova has experienced a significant advancement in the regional cooperation in the South Eastern Europe. It has been actively involved into regional initiatives and processes and already gained the status of a reliable partner in achieving regional objectives. Regional cooperation is a priority objective of the foreign policy. It has contributed to economic development and strengthening of security, as well as European integration process in the Republic of Moldova