Activity of the Government on August 1–31, 2006

Appointments. Reshuffles

The Government has proposed the appointment of political analyst Nicolae Chirtoaca as Moldovan Ambassador to the Unites States and the assignment of Justice Minister Victoria Iftodi as Moldovan Ambassador to France.

The executive has proposed the appointment of Eduard Melnic, deputy rector of the Academy of Public Administration, as extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of Moldova to Latvia, where Moldova has recently opened an embassy.

On August 16, the Government relived Oleg Cusnir from the post of director of the Casa Presei complex. It did not explain why, saying as usually “on basis of own demand.”

Decisions

Decision approving the action plan on use of conclusions of the Report “Thawing a frozen conflict: legal aspects of the separatist crisis in Moldova” by the Association of the Bar of the city of New York, in the country’s reintegration process. The plan contains 15 sets of actions which will be implemented in 2006, of which the most relevant are: — synthesis and analysis of documents on settlement of the Transnistrian conflict and withdrawal of Russian troops and ammunition from Moldova’s territory; — information of international community about developments in the Transnistria settlement process; — notification of foreign factors over this report; — calling upon parliaments of the European Union and the U.S. Congress regarding the organisation of parliamentary hearings on settlement of the Transnistrian conflict; — dissemination of the report summary as an official document of the U.N. General Assembly; — raising the awareness of foreign business circles over conduct of illegal economic activities in the Transnistrian region of Moldova; — elaboration of a course on Transnistrian problem for institutions of higher learning on basis of the report concerned; — stimulation and facilitation of debates on the report in civil society, etc.
Decision on socio-economic development of Moldova and execution of the action plan for the implementation of the 2005–09 action programme of the Government called “Modernisation of the country — welfare of people” in the first half of 2006. A negative influence of foreign factors, certain accomplishments in enduring a macroeconomic stability, improving the business environment are observed. The Government names the following problems for economic development: decline of exports, of volume of industrial production and transported goods; intensification of inflationist processes; unfavourable climatic conditions for agriculture; decline of foreign investments, growth of prices of fuels. Following measures aim to resolve the problems or to reduce the negative impact:
- reduction of inflation through fiscal and structural policies;
- promotion of industrial policy and creation of a quality infrastructure;
- acceleration of privatisation processes and reorganisation of industrial enterprises in order to develop them;
- start and active implementation of the process of adjustment of national standards to the E.U. norms;
- intensification of efforts against functioning-related faults of agricultural market — land market, capital market, production market, market of agricultural production;
- revision of the existing system of subsidies in agriculture and redirection of limited resources of state from subsidising of recurrent costs for certain products or productive expenses with a short-term effect to support of investments, services and agricultural infrastructure;
- intensification of dialogue with private sector regarding business environment and transparency of changes in regulation framework;
- drafting of sectoral strategies and strategy on attraction of investment and export promotion;
- intensification of negotiations with the Russian Federation within existing mechanisms;
- speeding up the implementation of recommendations of the European Commission in a move to obtain autonomous trade preferences; intensification of the dialogue with the European Commission in order to obtain facilities for exportation of Moldovan wines to the E.U. markets;
- optimisation of the wine quality control system in order to adjust it to existing quality standards on markets; identification of quality and parameters in effect on markets and capacity of domestic producers to respect these requirements, drafting of individual or group strategies on joining foreign markets;
- optimisation of use of energy resources with the purpose to reduce the costs and to maximise the efficiency;
- ensuring an individual record of payers of taxes to the state social insurance fund, establishing and payment of pension of citizens in dependence of their contribution to the pension system; individual record of payers of taxes to the health insurance fund, etc.
Decision on industry development strategy till 2015. It establishes the basic principles, objectives and priorities of development of this sector, mechanisms of implementation, ways of structural reformation of the sector, implementation of an efficient policy in the field of science and innovations, creation of an efficient infrastructure for industry and implementation of information and communication technologies.
Decision approving the agri-food development strategy for 2006–2015. The document is needed to help improving the situation in the field because recent estimates reveal that the cost of long-term assets in this sector has declined from 13.4 billion lei in 1998 down to 3.8 billion lei in 2005, while the agriculture has attracted only five percent of the total of investments in national economy in the past five years.
Decision approving the action plan on improvement of situation in the traffic security sector till 2009. The plan is part of the E.U. objectives to reduce the number of people killed in traffic accidents by 50 percent by 2010 and it calls for a better normative framework of training and re-qualification of motorists, endowment of mobile teams of traffic police with modern unlocking equipment, installation of tahographs in national buses, improvement of special anti-alcohol and anti-drug training programmes for detected persons. According to data of the Interior Ministry, about 2,000 traffic accidents took place in eight months of 2006; more than 200 persons died and about 1,800 people were hurt.
Decision approving the regulation of the governmental commission for equality between women and men. The commission, as a consultative and coordinating body in charge with the implementation of the state policy ensuring equal rights and chances between women and men will have a series of competences aimed to promote an integrated approach of equality between women and men, to improve the situation of women and men in all fields of social life and to grant a special social, economic and political status to women like the one the men hold de jure and de facto.
Decision on expertise of corruptibility of draft legislative acts. According to the regulation approved under the same decision, the expertise of corruptibility will assess the accordance of draft legislative act with national and international anti-corruption standards aimed to identify the norms favouring or capable to favour the corruption and will end with recommendations on exclusion or reduction of effects of corruption. Draft legislative acts regulating relations in the fields of constitutional and administrative law, justice and interior affairs, human rights and freedoms; economy and trade, budget and finances; education, culture, religious denominations and mass media; labour legislation; social welfare, healthcare and family will be examined against corruption. The expertise will be made accordingly to a methodology that the Centre for the Struggle Against Economic Crimes and Corruption must draft^[1].
Decision approving the Moldova-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP). The document published on August 25, 2006 establishes that the National Commission for the Elaboration and Implementation of IPAP will draft the National Programme on Implementation of IPAP and the list of needs of foreign assistance; will create working groups in charge with the following fields: a) political security and international cooperation; b) military security; c) crisis management, combat of terrorism and organised crime; d) democratic reforms and civil/democratic control on Armed Forces; e) economic and energy security; f) border security; g) security through science and environment protection; h) financing of reforms. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will coordinate the activities related to information of public opinion about composition and implementation of the programme.
Decision establishing rises of salaries of function for public functionaries with permanent access to the state secret. It establishes rises for permanent access to state secret of public functionaries working in central and local public administration authorities, law courts and prosecutor’s office financed from the national public budget, who enjoy access to secret information. The additions are between 10 and 20 percent of the salary of function and they are paid starting December 1, 2005.
Decision approving the regulation on calculation of minimum consumption basket. This new regulation maintains the same sections of expenses: food products; manufactured goods; services. But it also stipulates a new element — calculation of season fluctuations in consumption of food products. Some consumption rates have been increased. Although developers of the document say that the new act aims to establish a real minimum consumption basket, representatives of trade unions do not warm this regulation. The Confederation of Moldovan Trade Unions (CSRM) says that the document does not bring anything new in the mode of establishing the norms and the mode of calculating the minimum consumption basket for population. It is feared that the implementation of the regulation could worsen the situation regarding social protection of citizens and could have a negative influence on the process of arguing and establishing the minimum social guarantees: salaries, pensions, scholarships, indemnities and other social payments. CSRM regrets that the executive continues to adopt normative acts that affect the socio-economic interests of salary earners by neglecting the opinion of social partners and demands the urgent elaboration and adoption of a draft law on minimum consumption basket.
On August 3, the Government issued the Decision # 891 approving the action plan on use of conclusions of the Report “Thawing a frozen conflict: legal aspects of the separatist crisis in Moldova” by the Association of the Bar of the city of New York, in the country’s reintegration process. The plan stipulates among others a synthesis and analysis of documents on settlement of the Transnistrian problem and withdrawal of Russian troops and ammunition from Moldova; information of the international community about developments in the process of settlement of the Transnistrian conflict; submission of a joint appeal of GUAM to the head of the U.N. General Assembly seeking the additional inclusion of the problem of conflicts in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region in the agenda of the 61st session of the General Assembly; raising the awareness of foreign factors over this report; dissemination of the report summary as an official document of the U.N. General Assembly; raising the awareness of foreign business circles (companies, banks, etc.) over consequences of holding illegal economic activities in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, including through the report on this topic; analysis of the report and elaboration of some approaches within academic and university environment, elaboration of a course on the Transnistrian problem on basis of the report for institutions of higher learning; information of functionaries of local public administration about this report, etc.
Decision on some measures for the use of secondary wine products. According to the document, a proposal of the MoldovaVin Agency regarding the making of weak alcohol drinks and distilled drinks on basis of fermented juice of grape marc. The MoldovaVin Agency will draft a regulation on making of weak alcohol and distilled drinks, will approve the normative and technological documentation on their making.
Decisions approving draft laws. The Government has approved draft laws on limited societies; arbitrary judgment (arbitrage); legal status of adoption; modification of the law on the National Commission for Securities (reorganisation of CNVM); rise of sanctions for violation of copyrights; modification of the Code of Penal Procedure and the law on remedy of the damage caused by illicit actions of penal investigation bodies, prosecutor’s offices and law courts (rise of compensation for illicit actions).

Sittings. Decisions. Declarations

Concerns with situation in energy sector

A meeting between prime minister and a group of German investors has discussed the perspective of development of bio fuel industry in Moldova. The director-general of Bio Company Raps of Germany said that there are many opportunities of developing the bio fuel industry and this company is building a rape oil making plant in the city of Lipcani. The enterprise is expected to open by late 2006. At the same time, the company will invest in growing rape, including by increasing the sorts, mechanising the harvesting process. Vasile Tarlev thanked the German entrepreneurs for their wish to cooperate with Moldova and expressed readiness to grant the necessary support for implementation of joint investment projects.

A sitting on implementation of gas pipe building projects in Moldova has examined the implementation of the national programme in the field, ascertaining that all districts of the country have elaborated and approved local gasification programmes. As of January 1, 614 localities were supplied with gas (about 40 percent of all establishments). Gas pipes will be built in at least 190 localities this year and over 71 million lei is foreseen in the state budget for this purpose. The prime minister outlined that the construction of gas pipes Balti-Ungheni, Tocuz-Mereni and of the electricity distribution line Novodnestrovsk-Balti is a priority for ensuring the energy security of the country.

Interventions in healthcare sector

The Government has decided to insure the people who look after 1st-degree disabled children (about 500 persons) at home and mothers of at least seven children (about 300 families). About 4 million lei will be additionally allocated in 2006 for this purpose.

Convoking a meeting with managers of health institutions from Moldova, the prime minister said that quality, transparency and an accessible price of drugs can be obtained by using the centralised drug purchase mechanism. Vasile Tarlev said that stricter requirements will be introduced for medication providers “in order to exclude intermediaries from market.” The Ministry of Health and Social Protection was asked to hold auctions and to sign contracts for the purchase of state-subsidised medications and drugs needed by medical institutions, starting September 1 in future.

It should be mentioned that the Moldovan League of Pharmacists claims that Moldovan pharmacies lack cheap medications, as more than 90 percent of needs are covered from imports. According to representatives of the league, the internal prices of drugs have grown by 173% on average, while the imports have dropped by 40% compared with the similar period of 2005. Thus, a deficit of cheap first-need drugs was registered. Prices have grown because VAT facilities have been annulled; requirements for the implementation of the automatic information system State Nomenclature of Drugs (purchase and installation of a special soft, required latent band on every drug, personal costs, etc.) have been introduced.

Implementation of “SALT” Programme

According to press reports, the Ministry of Education and Youth has negotiated with a British company the acquisition of more than 10,000 computers worth about 55 dollars. As many as 360 teachers attended a 10-day training before the new academic year in order to learn education soft for subjects, within the Salt Programme. Training courses for directors of educational institutions and functionaries of general education directorates will be organised starting September, so that 10,000 local teachers become local trainers by end of the year. According to data of the relevant ministry, the implementation of the 2007–09 action plan on accomplishment of the “Salt” Programme will require about 400 million lei, of which the Ministry of Finance has plans to allocate more than 100 million lei the next three years.

The Centre of Information and Education Communication Technologies opened on August 30 to ensure the creation of a permanent training system for informatics teachers; to educate teachers of other subjects in the field of implementation of information and communication technologies; to elaborate education software for various subjects; to elaborate and publish didactic materials for informatics teachers; to elaborate electronic didactic materials for subjects; to monitor the use of Internet and implementation of information and communication technologies in education sector; to create and administrate an educational portal; to create databases to be used for the monitoring and administration of education system, etc.

Draft budget law for 2007

Decision-making officials of the Government have examined the main provisions of the draft budget law for 2006. The principles of budgetary-fiscal policies for next year adopted by Parliament in late July are novels of the draft. The new elements include: — the reduction of income tax; — the possibility to deduce more expenses; — the exemption of economic agents that invest two million dollars and reinvest 80 percent of their profit from income tax for a 3-year term and the 2007 budget foresees facilities for further investments of 5, 10, 20 and 50 million dollars; — micro-financing enterprises will hold the same rights and obligations like banks, will be exempted from income tax for a 3-year term, if they release credits for over three years. No essential rises are proposed for investments and the planned amount exceeds 300 million lei. The limitation of investment possibilities is argued by growth of expenses related to dearer natural gas and implementation of law on salary in budgetary sector.

↑ It should be noted that the Project “Reduction of Corruption Rate by Involving Civil Society in Legislative Creation Process” started in July 2006 and it is implemented by the Centre of Analysis and Prevention of Corruption and about 40 draft legislative acts have been already examined within this project accordingly to a methodology elaborated especially for this purpose.

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