Foreign Affairs on May 19 – June 1, 2003

The meeting of the Committee for EU-Moldova Parliamentary Co-operation was held, which discussed the evolution of the political situation in Moldova and the status of negotiations in the process of the Transdnistrian conflict resolution.

On 20 May 2003, the bureau of the National Committee for European Integration was convoked. During this meeting the Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev requested to finalise the Conception of European Integration of the Republic of Moldova by 12 June, although according to the provisions of the Government Plan of Activity for the fist semester of 2003, this paper should have been drafted by 14 March and then promulgated by the President by 9 May, Europe Day. The failure to meet the deadline might have a number of explanations, including the busy agenda of the state institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs related to the preparations for taking over the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the organisation of the local elections, the unrealistic assessment of the complexity and difficulty of adopting such an important document, or simply the neglect of this process, which was announced to be of maximum importance for our state. The meeting also discussed the need to create a Department for European Integration under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova.

On 27 May 2003, in Chisinau, the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe took place during which President Voronin said that Moldova, which is the Chair of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, will guarantee that all democratic values and European norms are respected in all COE Member States. Voronin also said that the Republic of Moldova could serve others as an example of a county that abided by its commitments towards the Council of Europe. Mr Voronin mentioned more than 20 laws and draft laws developed by COE recommendations and norms, as well as the translation into life of the COE recommendations on the civil, criminal, criminal procedure codes and the Law on the Prosecution. The Speaker Eugenia Ostapciuc mentioned that in accordance with the COE recommendations, amendments have been passed to the laws on parties, public administration, Electoral Code etc. It is to be noted however, that the COE has never recommended the provision for annual re-registration of parties based on a minimum number of members, or requested the reversal of the territorial administrative reform. Instead, the COE has repeatedly called upon the leaders in Chisinau not to bar the Braghis Alliance (the Social Democratic Alliance) initiative to hold a legislative referendum on changing the electoral system.

The meeting also touched upon topics related to the local elections, with regard to which the President declared that “all the democratic principles have been respected, and the electoral contestants have not made any complaints”, the Transdnistrian conflict, the European orientation of the Moldovan foreign policy.

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Foreign Affairs on May 19 – June 1, 2003

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