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Activity of the Parliament on March 29 – April 11, 2006

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Reshuffles

The Constitutional Court has validated the mandates of deputy of alternate candidates Ghenadie Morcov (of PCRM) and Efim Agachi (of PDM).

Under an April 3, 2006 Government Decision, Valentina Cusnir, lawmaker on behalf of the Christian Democratic People’s Party, is appointed as deputy director general of the Agro-Industrial Agency Moldova-Vin. She will have to choose one of the two public offices within one month.

Legislative acts

Law for the ratification of the Council of Europe’s Convention on combat of trafficking in human beings. The document aims to combat the trafficking in human beings, to create a framework of protection and assistance for victims and witnesses, promotion of international cooperation.

Decision on creation of the special commission for the elaboration of draft legislative acts on consolidation of local autonomy. The document is approved with the purpose to execute the schedule of legislative actions for fulfilment of recommendations from the Resolution and Recommendations of the Council of Europe, while the commission includes lawmakers representing all parliamentary factions, unaffiliated parliamentary groups.

Law for the modification and completion of the law on Government (creation of the Ministry of Local Public Administration). The parliamentary majority has maintained its previous decision on creation of a new ministry, but it gave green light to a proposal of the chief of state to exclude the merger within the new institution of the present Regional Development Agency, this remaining a body in charge with implementation of national programmes on constructions, water providing and improvement of infrastructure. This structure will turn into the agency for construction and territorial development.

Law for the modification of some legislative acts on customs. Lawmakers have passed in the second reading a draft law empowering the Customs Service to manage the origin certification system, to certify the origin of goods and to issue origin certificates for exportation of goods to the European Union for pay.

Law on beekeeping. The document adopted in the second reading was completed with the participation of representatives of organisations working in the field and it establishes the principles of these activities. It includes a special chapter on stimulation of activity of beekeepers, exemption of some tests from taxes and possibility of annual subsidies, given the contribution of this activity for agriculture.

Law for the modification and completion of some legislative acts on execution of judgements. The document stipulates the modification of the Code on Administrative Contraventions, of the law on police, law on entrepreneurship and enterprises, introduction of new regulations, resulting from enactment of the Moldovan Code on Execution.

Law on exemption of works for technical expertise, prospecting, designing and restoration of the Curchi monastery from VAT. The document completes a list of objects reconstructed with donations of individuals and businesses, works exempted from VAT.

Law for the modification of Article 69 of the Election Code. This amendment excluded Paragraph 2 saying that the Central Election Commission “may warn or fine the electoral competitors” for violation of the Election Code from Article 69. The exclusion was motivated through fact that this norm runs counter other legislative provision from the Code on Administrative Contraventions, which says that courts apply sanctions for violation of the electoral legislation. Also, it was invoked that the present legislation does not stipulate any sanctions for businesses, while most of those sanctioned are businesses (parties, mass media organisations, economic agents). It was not said during debates if the draft was supported by CEC and if it takes into consideration the related recommendations of the Council of Europe and OSCE/ODIHR[1].

Draft law for the completion of some legislative acts on operative activity of investigations. The draft adopted in the first reading obliges providers of post and telecommunication services to allow competent bodies to access the transmitted information, other assistance and necessary information within operative measures of investigation.

Draft Audiovisual Code. The document adopted in the first reading aims to regulate the relations related to production, broadcast and/or rebroadcast of programmes via radio and TV channels, as well as to control the activity of broadcasters.

Parliamentary control. Declarations

Hearings

The permanent commission for the public administration, ecology and territorial development has examined the findings of a control on implementation of water providing and sewerage programmes (in districts of Soroca and Stefan Voda and Balti municipality). According to information provided by working groups of the commission, the programmes approved for 2002–2006 have not been entirely implemented due to the lack of finances, while local councils of all levels did not work out and approve programmes for the period until 2015. The parliamentary commission has found out that some quality indicators of water from artesian wells in the districts of Soroca, Stefan-Voda and Balti municipality do not correspond to the drinking water standard.

The commission for the social protection, healthcare and family has organised hearings on problem of social protection of the child and family. Lawmakers have raised dissatisfaction in connection with the situation in the field and proposed to empower an institution only to monitor and control the execution of this legislative framework.

The minister of economy and trade has reported on results of negotiations with the joint stock society SA Gazprom to the Parliament regarding natural gas deliveries. Valeriu Lazar reconfirmed the signing of a temporary agreement for a 3-month term and a 110-dollar price for 1,000 cubic metres. According to the minister, there are premises for the maintenance of the present price of natural gas for a longer period, though there is no decision in this regard so far. Lazar confirmed that the Moldovan authorities have tabled some proposals to the Russian side, including on participation in investment projects, with the Moldovan legislation offering important facilities to investors from various fields, including energy.

Questions and Interpellations
Declarations

The speaker has convoked a news conference dedicated to the 1st anniversary of the acting legislature. According to Marian Lupu, the main accomplishments registered in this period include the political consensus, promotion of national interests above party interests. He indicated among concrete measures of the legislative activity the adoption of the legislative programme for 2005–2009, of some amendments to legislation resulted from conditions of political partnership (law on Superior Council of Magistracy, law on Information and Security Service, Court of Auditors, Election Code), which have been adopted and implemented by late 2005. Lupu noted that the Parliament will adopt the law on religious denominations, the law on broadcasting by the end of the current session, will improve the legislation on local autonomy, justice and prosecutor’s office, after an expertise by the Council of Europe. As regards the wine exports to the Russian Federation, the speaker said that the measures of Russian authorities have a clear political nature and they are not argued from technical or economic point of view. As regards the Transnistrian settlement, the stance of the Parliament is the one indicated by basic provisions of the special legal status of localities from the left bank of the Dniester river, with the “Chisinau authorities standing ready to award the widest autonomy to localities from the left bank of the Dniester river.”

On March 30, PPCD parliamentarian Gheorghe Susarenco read a statement deploring the use of the notion “independent lawmaker” or member of a party that did not exceed the electoral threshold in the parliamentary practice, a practice that he regards as contrary to constitutional norms, Election Code and legislative acts in effect. According to Susarenco, independent candidates only are independent lawmakers, while deputies who succeeded to the parliament as part of a party that they have left meanwhile are “lawmakers” or “lawmakers who left the faction,” while the use of the name of a political party that did not participate in elections besides their names is wrong.

The AMN faction has released a declaration concerning the violation of the rights of Opposition, manifested through restriction of the right to freedom of meetings. It said that AMN intended to picket the Parliament headquarter on April 4, 2006 and it submitted an application to the Chisinau City Hall, but the latter turned it down under the pretext of an official visit of a foreign delegation.

PDM lawmaker Dumitru Ivanov has launched a declaration demanding the revision of a decision of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport regarding the organisation of graduation examinations for schools in certain examination centres only. The lawmaker invoked dissatisfaction of parents, teachers and students, reduced possibilities of local authorities to carry all students.

AMN Deputy Alexandru Lipcan has read an interpellation concerning the profanation of national symbols and Romanian language by functionaries of some state structures — the state-owned railway enterprise of Moldova CFM. Lipcan mentioned that a “tricolour of the size of a trainload on which everybody is wiping the shoes is laid down” in a carriage of the train Moscow-Chisinau, while inscriptions in the official language are absent under the pretext of “an interstate agreement allowing the writing of documents on railroads in Russian language.” The parliamentarian asks the CFM administration to withdraw immediately the tricolour material from all Moldovan trains; demands the Prosecutor-General’s Office to investigate the profanation of the tricolour in Moldovan trains and to punish the guilty persons, while the Government was asked to study how CFM respects the law on functioning of languages spoken in the Republic of Moldova and to sanction the persons who are to blame for violation of this law.

  1. ↑ We note that commentaries of institutions concerned do not recommend the abrogation of provisions allowing CEC to apply sanctions, but they propose to establish express the size of applied fines in the law. The draft on amendment and completion of the Election Code worked out by ADEPT with the purpose to implement recommendations on election legislation of Moldova (www.e-democracy.md) proposes that Art. 69 keep the present norms and be completed with orders stipulating another sanction — annulment of registration — for electoral competitors who commit grave violations through a final judgment.
March 15–28, 2006 April 12–28, 2006