Activity of the Parliament on May 16–30, 2006

Reshuffles

Dumitru Braghis (PDSM) and Oleg Serebrian (PSL) were excluded from the Permanent Bureau of the Parliament at the May 18 sitting of legislature. The amendments came at the initiative of the AMN faction, which has earlier appointed these persons to the Permanent Bureau. Although AMN has sought the appointment of two own representatives to the vacancies, a member of the majority faction PCRM was named to one post. The two AMN lawmakers said before voting that they withdraw alone from the Permanent Bureau, but asked that opposition representatives be appointed to the vacancies.
Dumitru Braghis and Oleg Serebrian were excluded from the parliamentary delegations to different international parliamentary organisations on May 25, at the proposal of their former faction AMN. Representatives of Dumitru Braghis have criticised these actions of AMN and accused its leaders, but AMN faction deputy leader Veaceslav Untila rejected the charges.
PDM Deputy Efim Agachi was appointed member of the legal commission for rules and immunities instead of AMN lawmaker Leonid Bujor, who was transferred to the human rights commission. AMN Deputy Alim Afonin was named deputy chairman of the commission for public administration, ecology and territorial development instead of his faction mate Ivan Gutu. PCRM Deouty Elena Bodnarenco was named secretary of the commission for public administration, ecology and territorial development.
The PPCD faction has asked the withdrawal of lawmakers Valentina Cusnir and Zoia Jalba from all offices held in working bodies of the Parliament and parliamentary delegations, as both of them have quitted the faction as a sign of protest against authoritarian, “non-democratic and non-Christian” attitude of the faction and party leadership, intolerance of separate opinions on certain issues. Jalba and Cusnir asked that their names be associated with PPCD only as “non-affiliated” deputy of the faction. The PPCD faction will count for 8 members after Ion Neagu was excluded from party and parliamentary faction and the two lawmakers have recently quitted, following the PDM faction, which has now 9 members after the mandate of Efim Agachi was validated. The decline of the number of PPCD faction members was a ground for Valentina Cusnir to seek the revocation of Iurie Rosca from the post of deputy speaker.

Legislative acts

Law for the modification and completion of the Law # 64-XII from 31 May 1990 on Government. The law voted in two readings at once calls for the creation of the agency of sports as independent central structure in charge with sports. Earlier, it was said when the acting cabinet of ministers was created that the amalgamation of the Ministry of Education and structures in charge with youths and sports is am efficient measure for combat of bureaucracy, reduction of state apparatus, with the “concentration” contributing to a uniform development of all fields. The concept was declared wrong after a year of implementation, with the sport field requiring a “separate” attention. Representatives of opposition parliamentary factions have proposed that the new structure take over the management of youth field, but a representative of the executive and the majority faction in the Parliament turned down this initiative. It should be noted that the creation of the new structure is not stipulated express by the central public administration reform strategy and its action plan.

Law on modification of the law on fuels market. The adopted document calls for the exclusion of obligation to create an automatic fuel record system. It argues that the customs record system Asycuda World allows the record of imports of oil products and the situation in the field is better than when the law seeking the introduction of this system was adopted. At the same time, lawmakers and Government have earlier backed and promoted the decision to create automatic systems to record pharmaceutical products and alcohol production made or imported in Moldova.

Law for the modification and completion of the Law # 243-XV from 8 July 2004 on subsidised insurance of production risks in agriculture. It calls for the rise of administration expenses of insurer included in insurance premiums and of subsidy of insurance premium.

Law on ratification of some international acts. The Protocol between Moldovan Government and Hungarian Government on succession of Moldova to bilateral treaties signed between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Hungary; the Convention between Moldovan and Macedonian Governments on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion regarding income and capital taxes, the Protocol to this Convention were ratified.

Decision on appointment of a commission to examine draft laws on modification of Article 24 of Moldovan Constitution. The drafts laws seeking the abolition of death penalty in all circumstances (abrogation of constitutional provisions allowing the death penalty) will be prepared for examination by the legal commission for rules and immunity, which was told to report to the Parliament by 15 June 2006.

Draft laws on abolition of visa regime for citizens of some states. The two drafts adopted in the first reading stipulate the abolition of visa regime for citizens of the European Union, the United States, Canada, etc. A similar document was proposed by AMN Deputy Vitalia Pavlicenco, but its examination was postponed.

Draft law on modification and completion of the law on rehabilitation of victims of political repressions. The amendments seek the creation of a mechanism of restitution of goods seized from victims of repressions who have been rehabilitated meantime and fair compensations for the goods that cannot be returned. Most of expenses related to the implementation of this law will be covered from local budgets, but the Government intends to ensure the annual transfer of sums needed for this purpose to accounts of local authorities. The total amount for the implementation of this law was not officially announced, but it was earlier estimated at over one billion lei (about 75 million dollars). The European Court of Human Rights has sanctioned Moldova more than once for non-restitution of property to victims of repressions. Representatives of opposition factions have supported the draft, but invoked the need to improve it and they will table amendments for this purpose.

Draft law for the modification and completion of the law on the National Bank of Moldova. Some technical amendments and modifications of composition, including the ban of state crediting and establishing of the insurance and maintenance of price stability as fundamental objective. These provisions result from the memorandum signed by Moldovan Government with IMF, but the mechanism and means for maintenance of prices are not clear, a fact that raised the criticism of opposition lawmakers. Proposals to award immunity to members of the BNM Board of Directors, obligation to obtain the consent of BNM for all normative acts on fields tin which the central bank has competences for all normative acts; external auditing mechanism have also raised objections of lawmakers.

Draft law on mediation in penal cases. The document adopted in the first reading proposes introduction of the mediation institution in in the criminal law system as optional modality of an amicable settlement of conflicts, with the help of a third specialised party as mediator, under conditions of neutrality, fairness and confidentiality. The conflicting sides may choose the mediation voluntarily.

Draft law on modification of the Law on privatisation programme for 1997–1998 (#1585). The document adopted in the first reading proposes the modification of lists of objects for privatisation by replacing them with new lists proposed by Government. The list of objectives proposed by Government included important objects such as SA “Moldtelecom”, S.A. “Aroma”, S.A. “Barza Alba”, I.S. “Giuvaer”, S.A. Power Distribution Grids “Nord” and “Nord-Vest”, I.S. Hotel “DACIA”, state-owned shares in S.A. “TUTUN-CTC”, B.C. “EuroCreditBank” S.A., I.M. “JOLLY-ALON” S.A., S.A. “Floare-Carpet”, S.A. “Zorile”, I.M. “Glass Container Company” S.A., etc.

Parliamentary control. Declarations

Hearings

The Justice Ministry has answered an interpellation of Deputy Vitalia Pavlicenco regarding the inappropriate financing of justice in Moldova, describing a study on this field conducted by nongovernmental organisations as incomplete. According to the Justice Ministry, the sum allocated from the state budget to courts and other law enforcement bodies fits the international standards in the field. Pavlicenco has described the stance of the ministry as categorical, without verticality in promoting the interests of independent justice.

The Ministry of Economy and Trade has reported the situation in the field of import-export relations. According to a communication, a negative trade balance of 1.2 billion dollars was registered in 2005. The main exports went to the Russian Federation — 30%, Italy 12%, Romania 10%. Following were the main commercial partners of Moldova for imports: Ukraine — 20%; the Russian Federation — 12%, Romania — 11%. The largest trade deficit was registered with Ukraine, Romania and Germany. The negative balance rose by 50% in the 1st quarter of 2006 compared with the same period of 2005. More than 63% of goods in the structure of imports cannot be substituted in Moldova (oil, energy resources, machines and equipment). External collections counterbalance the situation in the field and allow the maintenance of situation in the estimated limits.

Questions. Interpellations

AMN Deputy Alexandru Lipcan has invoked some violations committed by Centru court chairwoman Lidia Vasilevici during trying of some persons (sentencing of some people to detention in a case in which the prosecutor has withdrawn the accusation). The illegal actions were confirmed by annulment by the Court of Appeal of the sentence passed by Vasilevici and release of the accused persons. Deputy Lipcan asks the Prosecutor-General’s Office and the Superior Council of Magistracy to examine the actions of judge and to comment on presence of offence.
PPCD Deputy Gheorghe Susarenco has asked the chief state sanitary doctor of Moldova to make expertises and to check the quality of agri-food production imported in Moldova from the Russian Federation, replying this way to blockades and “unfriendly” attitudes of Russian authorities towards goods made in Moldova. Replying the interpellation of Susarenco, chief state sanitary doctor Ion Bahnarel said that the Moldovan authorities have taken “internal and external” measures related to the access of domestic goods to the Russian market and of Russian goods to the Moldovan market. According to Bahnarel, previous controls have directed to fines and interdictions applied individually, but the Government only can make a general decision to ban the importation of a certain product from a country in special situations.
Deputaty Stefan Secareanu has described the lack of an answer from Victor Tvircun, minister of education, youth and sport, to the conflict related to the change of the name of the Chisinau-based lycee “Gheorghe Asachi” as “a defiance of the Parliament and lawmakers.” Secareanu has asked the prosecutor-general to consider the possibility to punish Minister Victor Tvircun for violation of the law on status of parliamentarian. Tvircun did not answer a request of the chairman of the parliamentary commission for human rights for three weeks and Secareanu sent his interpellation to the prime minister.
Deputy Igor Clipii has asked the Interior Ministry to report on legality of traffic of automobiles with Transnistrian number plates in Moldova, without paying appropriate import duties. Also, Clipii asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration why the competent authorities did not examine the application of Romanian Senator Ilie Ilascu for regaining of Moldova’s citizenship, an application that Ilascu submitted to the consular authorities of Moldova in Bucharest in November 2005.
PDM Deputy Vladimir Filat has asked the director-general of the Customs Service to argue the legality of a decision on payment of customs duties for household appliances imported in Moldova only at the “Airport” customs and ban of these procedures at other territorial customs station.

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