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The last plenary sitting in the summer session brought tensions between majority faction and opposition. Leader of the Braghis Alliance came with the proposition Parliament not to leave for a vacation, until the conflict around the Romanian schools in Transdnistria was not settled, as well as the conflict surrounding Teleradio-Moldova, where protest rallies of the employees against re-hiring interviews continued.

Parliament majority faction refused including Braghis' proposition in the agenda, consequently his faction left the session stating they left for Transdnistria and Teleradio-Moldova to study and get involved in the conflict settlement. Christian-Democrat faction only observed the session, however at the end it did release a declaration outlining their own vision on the conflicts and how they should be settled.

In response, Communist faction leader stated that situation surrounding "Teleradio-Moldova" is normal and its company leadership's actions were in line with the law on which Council of Europe provided its expertise. He went on saying that several political forces wanted to exploit the situation of laid-off workers to their own benefit so as to get political dividends.

Under given circumstances, President, Parliament Speaker and Prime-Minister delivered their speeches only in front of the majority faction and a few independents, as the other two factions left the room.

As usual, in his speech Prime-Minister reviewed Government achievements in economy, i.e. growth of GDP, industrial output and budget revenues. The conclusion reached - economic and social conditions continued flourishing and were about to bring results.

As for the President, he made a summary of the current session, namely a special attention was given to agricultural and social sectors and local government. As usual, the Speaker pointed to the "unconstructive" attitude displayed by the opposition in minority. Further, deputies were reminded that they were on peoples' service and great many of them had acknowledge that by being close to their voters, in contrast to the rest.

President referred to the recent legislation, namely:

1. Stability Pact for Moldova, which supposedly would be endorsed by the great majority of European States it was submitted to.

2. Behaviour of political foes on the eve and throughout electoral campaign. President directly appealed to majority faction calling it to refrain from propaganda actions and destabilizing political battles.

3. Revision of the official position as regards Transdnistrian authorities, by cancelling economic benefits granted, quality certificates of origin granted to Transdnistrian goods enabling their export, etc. Following the escalation of the situation around Romanian schools in Transdnistria, Chisinau issued several harsh statements and passed a string of Government rulings in this respect. The ultimatum set for August 1 envisaged a string of harsh actions; however it wasn't clear whether those actions would be enforced as they would most certainly escalate the situation even further. Noteworthy, at the beginning of the last plenary session deputies examined a number of legal acts, some of which shall be given a due consideration below.

I. Law on Non-enforcement of Sanctions for the Failure to Pay Land Tax

ADEPT Comment: Under the law, notwithstanding the legal provisions of the Fiscal Code, it was thereby set that the deadline for taxpayers to pay in full the land fund tax for agricultural plots was extended to November 1, 2004. The move was inspired by the late harvest this year (tobacco, grapes, and vegetables, sunflower), etc. In 2004, 165 million Lei worth land tax were forecasted, out of which 42 million were already collected.

II. Law on the Modification of Legal Acts on Implementing Code on Science and Innovation

ADEPT Comment: Law provides for the modification of legal acts so as to bring them in accordance with the recently passed Code on Science and Innovation. The following were amended:

Labour Code - so as to establish the terms of vacation for scientific personnel (30-42 de days); include additional conditions for the termination of the work contract (in cases of failure to pass attestation or hiring competitions).

Law on Public Service - so as to include the leadership of the Academy of Science and Supreme Accreditation Council in the list of public servants.

Law on Wages - so at to raise the wage category for the Academy leadership;

Fiscal Code - so as to avoid taxation of revenues incurred by enterprises, institutions and organizations from science and innovation activities. In addition, import and rendering science and innovation services within the country were exempted from VAT.

Law on Government - so as to allow delegating to Academy of Science responsibilities in the field of science and innovation, as well as include the Chair of the Academy in the Government.

The draft raised a rich harvest of criticism, as was the case of the Code of Science and Innovation, however in the end majority faction endorsed President's initiative by excluding or amending only the vague or unclear provisions.

III. Law on Amending the Law on State Decoration

ADEPT Comment: At the proposition of the President of the Republic of Moldova a new decoration - Order "Faith to the Motherland" first (the highest), second and third degree was introduced. The decoration is awarded for:

• excellent military service;
• achievements in heading military forces;
• for courage and sacrifice;
• for excellent military service, work and public service, for acts of courage and initiative in combating crime, extremism and terrorism;
• bravery and persistence in saving people and goods, etc.

A pre-condition for receiving the decoration is at least 5, 10 or 15 years in duty. The decoration represents a star having eight radiating points bearing the image of two spades on a golden shield.

IV. Law on Changing the Destination of some Plots in the Property of Defence Ministry

ADEPT Comment: Under the law, Government shall change the destination of plots from public property administered by Ministry of Defence into plots for construction of housing and social-cultural edifices, a total of eight hectares.

The revenues from the privatization of the said assets shall be collected by the Defence Ministry and shall be directed to purchasing and building housing for the military.

V. Law on Amendment and Completion of Legal Acts on Securities

ADEPT Comment: Under the law, securities issued by National Bank of Moldova (deposit certificates (deposit certificates, bills, etc) shall not fall under the provisions of the Law on Securities Market. The reason behind the amendments is to help banks attract additional funds from the market and channel them into national economy. Specifically, it is expected to attract money wired home by Moldovans working abroad.