Activity of the President on June 16–30, 2008

Decrees

The Honour Order medal was awarded to:

Sergei Pirojkov, Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova;
Oleg Babenco, Rector of the Slavonic University;

The Civic Merit medal was awarded to the following functionaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration:

Tatiana Botorovschi, Head of the directorate for economic relations with the European Union of the European Integration department;
Dumitru Tira, Head of the directorate for regional development of the European Integration department.

The Labour Glory medal was awarded to Alexandr Bilinchis, Chairman of the Jewish Congress in Moldova.

Under a presidential decree, Natalia Catrinescu, Head of Division for Coordinating Policies and External Assistance within the Government Office, was nominated secretary of the National Commission for European Integration.

The Moldovan president has issued a decree instituting the medal For Excellency. According to the regulation, the medal will be annually awarded to graduates from accredited higher education institutions that graduate with a minimum general mark of 9 points. The medal was already awarded to 26 students from higher education institutions.

Sittings. Decisions. Statements

Plans for light aviation

Vladimir Voronin has chaired a working meeting on development prospects of the light aviation, indicating the opportunity of working out a special plan to stipulate concrete actions aimed at extending capacities of this sector. President stressed the utility of the light aviation for the border guard service, emergency service, sanitary aviation, etc. Mr. Voronin underlined the necessity to develop more quickly the ground infrastructure, including take-off and landing fields for light aircraft, indicating its important role in ensuring a modern infrastructure for business, state administration, sport and leisure.

Discontentment with gambling sector

The president of Moldova has convoked a sitting with the participation of governmental officials and discussed the situation in the gambling sector. He noted that the gambling sector has unsatisfactorily developed until now: gambling halls and grounds appear chaotically; processes in these enterprises are not qualitatively organised and they do not become infrastructure development centres; the gambling business does not have any connection with the tourism in Moldova. Voronin proposed to establish a working group to analyse the legal framework regulating the gambling and work out a programme on optimisation of the authorisation process, organisation and conduct of gambling in Moldova on the basis of advanced experience of the gambling industry from developed countries.

Concerns with keeping commercial and bank secret

According to a formal presidential communication, on June 16, 2008, at sitting of the Supreme Security Council were examined cases of falsification and abuses committed by a group made of lawyers, decision makers of the National Bank of Moldova and judicial system, which contributed to the dispossession of B.C. Moldova Agroindbank shareholders of securities worth 8 million lei by using fraudulent schemes. According to available communications, contracts of debts between some B.C. Moldova Agroindbank shareholders and persons recruited for this purpose have been fabricated, with law courts being further appealed to dispossess legitimate shareholders of the bank. All litigations have been examined by the Riscani district court in the capital and former shareholders were not notified over claims for the rights to their securities. The Moldovan president noted that the fraudulent scheme used to dispossess shareholders proves alarming conditions capable to initiate such litigations over other commercial banks as well, and to promote similar actions on financial market of the country. The Supreme Security Council has instructed the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the National Bank to establish a working group in order to synthetise and survey the legislation on banking and commercial secret and work out initiatives aimed to improve the national legislation in this area. The Supreme Court of Justice will analyse and generalise the legal practice regarding examination of litigations on property rights, the National Bank of Moldova will harden and optimise selection and promotion policies, while the Centre for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption will speed up criminal prosecution on these cases.

Note by ADEPT: Statements delivered at the sitting of the Supreme Security Council affect the innocence presumption principle and, therefore, members of the Parliament have appealed to the Prosecutor-General’s Office and demanded information on criminal charges against judges concerned.

Combating trafficking in human beings

At a sitting on June 30, 2008 members of the Supreme Security Council considered the activity of the Centre for Combating Trafficking in Persons (CCTP) of the Interior Ministry and described it as unsatisfactory. Available data reveal shortcomings of the work of CCTP, CCTP involvement and protection of criminal networks which transport Moldovan nationals to other countries for labour purpose. CCTP officers have allegedly granted diverse “services” to traffickers in persons by being bribed, in particular, they did not file or quashed criminal cases, covered evidence, etc. The chief of state ordered a 50-percent reduction of the number of CSTP staff, the attestation of officers who will keep their jobs and the operative adoption of a complex of measures to bring concrete results of the fight against trafficking in persons.

Note by ADEPT: The president reacted shortly after the U.S. Department of State has released the Report on Trafficking in Persons, which indicates Moldova as a source country of trafficked persons; efforts by authorities to combat the trafficking in persons are inefficient; allocated budgetary funds are small; central authorities are indulgent, relying more on activity of nongovernmental and international organisations without assuming the lead of the anti-trafficking fight, etc. The U.S report noted that the specialised centre of the Interior Ministry has diminished the number of investigated cases inclusively under instructions by high-ranking state functionaries.

Concerns with developing grain enterprises

The chief of state was on a working visit to Combinatul de Produse Cerealiere in Chisinau and collected facts about activity of this enterprise and preparations for the new production season. Voronin noted that decisions made at a sitting on protection of state patrimony within enterprises of strategic importance hosted by presidency eight months ago have been implemented. Also, it was stressed the need to urgently resolve problems related to the unused patrimony, payment of old debts and modernisation of production process. A special governmental commission will work out an action plan on modernisation and permanent and dynamic development of Combinatul de Produse Cerealiere Chisinau.

Meeting with Eduard Musuc

A meeting with the newly-elected Chairman of the Chisinau Municipal Council took place at the initiative of the chief of state and focussed on latest developments in the Municipal Council and possibilities to optimise its work. The sides also discussed current issues related to functioning of communal administration, primordial problems in the capital which require joint actions by central authorities and Municipal Council.

Sitting of the National Commission for European Integration

The Prime minister has provided information about implementation of the priority plan on European integration for 2008 and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration reported latest developments in Moldova-EU relations. The chief of state made public the project on Moldova’s position relating to the new agreement with the EU, which stresses five priorities for Moldova: to get a deep free trade regime with the European Union; to get a free visa regime with the European Union; the perspective to join the EU; the name of the new agreement and the term to begin negotiations in this respect with the EU. Also, institutional changes relating to competence have been agreed: the Government Apparatus will be in charge with implementing European reforms concerning the European integration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will coordinate the foreign policy of Moldova with the EU, negotiate a new agreement with the EU. Under a previous decision, the National Commission for European Integration will held sittings at least once a month and the public and journalists will be welcome.

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