Activity of the Parliament on October 1–15, 2006

The Parliament of Moldova restarted its plenary sittings on October 5. The speaker has highlighted a number of immediate tasks of the Parliament at the opening of the autumn plenary session, including:

examining primordial documents: the budget law, the law on mandatory health insurance funds, the law on state social insurance budget for 2007, the new law on insurance, the law on mediation in civic litigations, etc.;
establishing the relevant mechanism for implementation of anti-corruption survey of draft legislative acts;
fulfilling the recommendations of the Council of Europe on consolidation of local self-governance; modifying the Parliament’s Regulation, the law on political parties, the law on freedom of expression;
implementing the EU-Moldova Action Plan;
formatting the process of adjustment of legislation to the acquis communautaire through a real implementation of this process by Government;
revising the contents of the legislative programme in a move to make it a priority;
making an inventory of the national legal framework, analysing the political and socio-economic impact of the adopted laws;
continuing and deepening the cooperation in nongovernmental sector (business community, academic environment, associative sector), etc.

Reshuffles

Vitalia Pavlicenco and Anatol Taranu have been excluded from the parliamentary faction representing the “Our Moldova” Alliance (AMN) and posts in parliamentary structures, international delegations, accordingly to proportional assignment of functions in the Parliament.

Legislative acts

Law annulling debts of agricultural producers who work fields over the Ribnita-Tiraspol route toward the state social insurance budget, calculated for 2005. The law annuls the debts of farmers who work fields over the Ribnita-Tiraspol route for mandatory state social insurance contributions, calculated for 2005, while the annulled amount is calculated from the state budget. Failed revenues account for over 121,000 lei and they will be compensated from the state budget through transfers to the social insurance budget.

Law on completion of law on healthcare. The parliamentary majority banned the activity of private health institutions in territory of public medical-sanitary facilities on July 21, 2006 after controversial debates. Representatives of the opposition said then that the provisions should be reformulated, so that to respect the rights of institutions which hold rent contracts. However, the communist majority turned down those initiatives, arguing formally its stance through the need to prevent abuses and violations, but it was supposed that this severe attitude was related to dissatisfaction of Moldovan president with debates on this issue held during a plenary sitting, asking the speaker to take measures in order to limit such talks “by adopting an organic law”. The chief of state did not promulgate the law adopted this way, recommending the Parliament to allow the continuation of rent contracts signed till July 21, 2006 between private and public medical-sanitary and pharmaceutical institutions until expiration of their term. The parliamentary majority was not so categorical at the October 13 sitting that re-examined this draft and voted the amendment.

Draft law on completion of some legislative acts (anti-corruption expertise). It seeks the compulsory introduction of anti-corruption survey on draft legislative and normative acts by the Centre for the Struggle Against Economic Crimes and Corruption (most of opposition lawmakers have contested this initiative).

Draft Title IX of Tax Code. It stipulates the completion with a special title on traffic taxes — taxes for owners of motor vehicles who use the roads or/and their protection areas.

Draft law on mediation in civil litigations. It seeks the regulation of the mediation institution, a modality of settlement of litigations on amicable way, with the help of a third competent person.

Draft law on modification and completion of the law on customs tariff. It stipulates higher duties for a number of agri-industrial products, especially for positions of products made in Moldova. The tariff policy is adjusted to internal needs, with the Government obtaining this right due to expiration of the five-year evaluation term since Moldova’s joining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). At the same time, some duties (for sugar imports) will be lowered at the recommendation of WTO and this fact dissatisfies domestic producers.

Draft law on completion of law on healthcare. It stipulates that graduates from medical education who get employed in rural localities accordingly to assignment benefit of following facilities in the first three years of work: free residence; a single indemnity in the amount of 30,000 (24,000) for doctors and nurses; monthly compensation of the cost of some energy resources (electricity, wood, coal). In order to benefit of these facilities, young specialists will have to sign individual labour contracts and the employee will have to return the received amounts if he tenders resignation before this term. It should be noted that similar facilities have been introduced for teachers, but this policy of the Government was inefficient and the shortage of teachers in rural localities remains high.

Parliamentary control. Statements

The parliamentary commission for security, defence and public order will monitor the investigation in the case of a police officer who was the target of an assassination attempt after he reported that the Interior Ministry has committed some illegalities against him. According to the chairman of the parliamentary commission, the group investigating this case includes representatives of the Prosecutor-General, domestic security service SIS, while the family of the victim is protected in line with legislation.

Questions and interpretations

Communist Deputy Iurie Stoicov has asked the Prosecutor-General’s Office to investigate statements of former AMN Deputy Anatolie Taranu, who said that the Electoral Bloc “Democratic Moldova” received foreign financing during the 2005 parliamentary electoral campaign, an action prohibited by electoral legislation.

Democratic Deputy Vladimir Filat has asked the Government to report the debts of Moldova for natural gas consumption that the Russian giant Gazprom had earlier ceded to a third company.

AMN Deputy Veaceslav Untila has asked the chairman of the broadcasting company “TeleRadio-Moldova” to report on inadequate coverage of activity of the opposition during the TV programme “Rezonans”.

Another AMN Deputy, Ion Gutu, has asked the Government to argue the opening of the Moldovan Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, from economic-political viewpoint.

Deputy Vitalia Pavlicenco has asked the Government to explain the failure to table the draft foreign policy concept and the draft national security concept of Moldova to the Parliament, acts that should be completed by summer 2006. Pavlicenco also asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration to take attitude toward the ongoing Russian-Georgian political conflict.

Christian Democratic Deputy Vlad Cubreacov has asked the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the domestic security service SIS, the service for problems of religious denominations to react to greetings and encouragement addressed by Russian Orthodox hierarchs of the Moscow patriarchate to separatist leader Igor Smirnov (after the referendum held in the region), actions that encourage the separatism and are a hostile attitude toward Moldova.

Christian Democratic Deputy Angela Arama has asked the Superior Council of Magistracy to elucidate the examination of some trials by a judge whose mandate was completed in May 2006, as the European Court for Human Rights sentenced Moldova for such actions.

Statements

The Parliament has replied to a declaration of the State Duma of the Russian Federation concerning the results of the so-called referendum in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova . Moldovan parliamentarians noted that by adopting this declaration Russian lawmakers throw doubts on territorial integrity of Moldova, while the text of the statement contradicts the basic treaty between Moldova and Russia, norms and principles of international law. The Moldovan Parliament ascertains that the declaration concerned “fully disagrees with recent statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has clearly opposed the revision of the territorial integrity principles in contemporary world.” The Parliament of Moldova asks the Russian Federation’s State Duma to refrain from supporting the separatism, which affects both these states and may affect Russia and may have unpredictable consequences on the entire European continent.

All parliamentary factions except for the communist majority have released statements condemning the introduction of the integrated history course in pre-university education and the textbooks elaborated for this purpose. The authorities are accused of politicising the history, misrepresenting facts and praising some controversial periods, while the political stability in the country is threatened.

The communist faction has released a counter-statement, saying that the history textbooks have been elaborated accordingly to the necessary procedures, while their contents correspond to modern requirements on history treatment and the existing faults may be eliminated. The Communist Party of Moldova considers that the talks on history teaching are deliberately politicised.

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