Parliamentary Assembly

It is a great honour for me to speak before the prestigious Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I make this speech at a time that is full of challenges, both for my country and for the European continent as a whole. A number of norms and rules that were applied in the past are no longer applicable today and a new world order is being shaped. In addition, there are new, very sophisticated instruments that governments and citizens have to deal with. The nature of this period – a period full of challenges – has been very well captured in the annual reports of the Secretary General and the Commissioner for Human Rights concerning the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe, with a special focus on the rise of populism.

That annual report is an in-depth assessment of the democratic deficiencies of Europe, which require immediate response. It is certain that that response does not depend on the reaction just of one party but requires an integrated approach. If there is one lesson that we have learned over the years, it is that treaties, including more than 200 treaties of the Council of Europe, and national laws are the catalysts for transformation and the continuation of the European construction. In this context, a special role is played by parliamentary diplomacy and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

In the case of my country, the profound impact of democratic transformations is confirmed by our adherence to the values and principles of the Council of Europe. We are connected by a shared history – 22 years of co-operation and 25 years of independence for my country. Those 22 years of co-operation have seen many radical transformations, including the reform and adjustment of the normative framework, the constitutional framework, changes in institutions and changes in mentality. Moreover, the Council of Europe contributes to the realisation of the big dream of my country, which is integration with Europe.

“The Republic of Moldova and the Council of Europe are connected by a shared history of 22 years of co-operation and 25 years of independence – years which have seen radical transformations”

After accession to the Council of Europe, our country took on a number of commitments, which we are constantly delivering on. Since our government took office in January 2016, we have gone through a very difficult period with many challenges, and this period required a lot of courage, dedication and hard work. We have mobilised our resources to achieve specific results. It was not easy, but we managed to relaunch the reform of the country with a strategic aim, which was formulated in the government programme 2016-18. Also, we have set about implementing the provisions of the association agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union.

At the same time, the presidential elections of 2016 have created a new political context. I have communicated to our President that, if I were to choose between co-operation and co-existence, I would prefer co-operation. It is clear that on many issues, particularly on many foreign policy issues, we will have different opinions and we will be in different camps, but we have to work together on the other projects.

In our activity, we focus on strengthening the functional capacities of the institutions of the State, in order to regain public trust in national institutions by making the government more transparent and opening up a constructive dialogue between the government and society. In this context, we have taken into consideration the recommendations of PACE and of the monitoring committees of the Council of Europe. For instance, the PACE recommendations have been enshrined in the action plan of the parliament regarding the honouring by the Republic of Moldova of its commitments to the Council of Europe.

There has also been support for the implementation of the justice sector reform strategy for 2011-16. This strategy has been extended by one more year and it aims to ensure sustainable development in the entirety of the judiciary. Together with the parliament, we managed to promote the law on reorganising the judiciary. We have introduced severe penalties for defrauding European funds, we have created a national integrity authority and we have established two specialised prosecutorial services. One prosecutorial office deals with the fight against corruption and the other deals with the fight against organised crime.

The new legislation and the new measures allowed the prosecution office to become more efficient. I will give an example by citing some statistics for the past two years. Of the 1,100 prosecutors and judges that we have in the country, 36 have been prosecuted and convicted for acts of corruption, thanks to the know-how and expertise of the Council of Europe. From 1 August 2016, we have enacted the new law on reforming the prosecution service.

We have to speak about the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, but we also need to look at the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Considering the relevant statistics and the case law of the ECHR, the government has undertaken, with the support of the World Bank, to build a new penitentiary institution, because respect for human rights is a priority for us and we would like to address the deficiencies that exist as soon as possible.

In accordance with the recommendation of the Group of States against Corruption, we have adopted and are currently implementing a law on the financing of political parties and election campaigns. In the context of the current round of assessments, which provides for the prevention of corruption among MPs, judges and prosecutors, a code of ethics for MPs is being developed. Shortly, a joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Union will be launched, which aims to prevent money laundering and assist the fight against corruption.

Following the recommendations of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, the Republic of Moldova has put in place an efficient mechanism for policy co-ordination, which provides for good practice at both national and international level. The mechanism operates through the national committee for combating trafficking in human beings, under the leadership of the ministry of foreign affairs and with the support of the permanent secretariat. We benefit from the support of the whole anti-trafficking community, which includes national and international experts, the diplomatic community and civil society.

Having considered the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, we have adopted a strategy for consolidating inter-ethnic relations, covering 2017 to 2027. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities’ recommendations on decentralisation are set out in the road map that was signed in July 2016. With the support of the Council of Europe, we have developed a new law on local public finance that is being implemented nationally. Because there has been a delay, the implementation period for the decentralisation strategy has been extended to 2018.

In accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Europe and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, we have set up a working group to deal with the special status and autonomy of the Gagauz. The group brings together members of the Moldovan Parliament and the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, and it has made more than 21 recommendations to the public authorities. The recommendations concern the changes to the legislation on the country’s administrative and territorial organisation, and they also deal with the separation of powers and competencies. The group has prepared four Bills. Around a year ago, we organised a special government session in Gagauzia, focusing on the social and economic development of the region in the context of its autonomy.

At the national level, in December 2016 we approved the government decision and action plan on the social and economic development of Gagauzia between 2016 and 2019. Among the actions already taken are the development and implementation of a programme for the simultaneous learning of the Romanian and Gagauz languages in 10 kindergartens, and the initiation and development of the technical infrastructure in the industrial park in Comrat. Several Bills on the special ethno-cultural status of Taraclia have been prepared. We consulted the Venice Commission, which gave its opinion in December 2016 and recommended the consideration of Taraclia’s concerns.

For the period 2016-18, the government have proceeded with their efforts to increase the efficiency of public administration so as to provide the highest-quality services to our citizens. That commitment is reflected in our public administration reform strategy for 2016-20. We have also embarked on a broad process of government restructuring, aiming to streamline the number of ministries and agencies. It will be the most profound and ambitious reform of central public administration ever initiated in the Republic of Moldova, but it will also be the most complicated reform and require huge capacity. We have implemented the reform process not only to increase the efficiency and functionality of public administration, but to deliver better public services. We are intent on launching a comprehensive programme of local public administration reform. We have taken action to reduce the amount of red tape and the number of permits and authorisations – since the start of 2016, we have reduced the number of permits from 412 to 115.

We have also taken action to improve the legal framework to diversify financial instruments for small and medium-sized enterprises, and we have introduced a flat 7% tax for IT park residents. We are making efforts to implement our national strategy for the development of the information society, Digital Moldova 2020. We have support from the Council of Europe to help Internet companies. We believe that the Internet, alongside co-operation with all actors, including in the private sector, will provide new opportunities for organisations and member States. The IT sector in the Republic of Moldova is recording rapid growth, and the country is among the top 10 for fast Internet speeds. Unfortunately, the Republic of Moldova is one of the countries that is most vulnerable to cyber-attacks, particularly on the electoral and economic systems. The provisions of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the Lanzarote Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse are extremely relevant, so we would like to develop a mechanism for the prevention of online abuse. We are interested in the Council of Europe’s good practice in the field.

We are happy to say that the reforms we have launched are reflected in the Council of Europe’s action plan for the Republic of Moldova 2017-20, which was officially launched in Chisinau on 30 May 2017. We thank you, Mr Secretary General, for your continued support and for your presence in Chisinau. The previous action plan for 2013-16 brought about several tangible results at national level. For example, we adopted a package of laws on the judiciary, the status of judges and their selection and evaluation, and we strengthened lawyers’ capacities and developed the monitoring capacity of the broadcasting co-ordinating council. We have received Council of Europe support on electoral matters, as well as to reform the ombudsman institution and the anti-discrimination council. We worked with the Council of Europe on a confidence-building project for people on the two sides of the Dniester river. I am sure that, together with the Council of Europe, we will achieve good results on such fundamental issues.

It is essential for the Republic of Moldova to have the joint mechanism known as the programmatic co-operation framework. After two years of implementation, the framework has proven its usefulness and efficiency in the implementation of regional and bilateral projects. It is a true model of co-ordination. When the Council of Europe and the European Union co-ordinate, it avoids duplication.

The European Convention on Human Rights plays a special role. The maturity of our Convention system should be supported by shared responsibilities and the principle of subsidiarity. The Republic of Moldova will continue to support the reform process and the four interlocking Interlaken, Izmir, Brighton and Brussels Declarations, including any action needed to strengthen democratic security. In that context, we will continue to support the European Court of Human Rights secondment programme for lawyers. In 2017, our country will mark the 20th anniversary of our accession to the Convention.

The role of the Convention and the European Court of Human Rights has never been more complex or more difficult. The future depends not only on the activity and visibility of the Council of Europe but on the responsibility of each member State to guarantee the protection of human rights at national level. Here we are speaking not just about the adoption of laws that will comply with European and international standards, but about seriously implementing and enforcing those laws. In that context, I remind the Assembly about the ECHR judgement Catan and others v. Moldova and the Russian Federation concerning schools in Transnistria. The rights of children should be excluded from a political context, and children should not become collateral victims of the process of settlement. A pragmatic approach, and channelling our efforts towards the educational dimension of the problem, will help us to achieve good results. The focus should be on the expertise of the Council of Europe, on the dialogue between parties, and on small-steps policies.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that, over the past two decades, our continent has faced a number of turbulences and challenges, as it continues to do. The system of international law is continuously being challenged, and significantly so. Europe has experienced profound geopolitical changes. Regrettably, those changes have been accompanied by conflicts that remain unresolved and act as factors of regional instability. The contribution of the Council of Europe, through its political attention, its mechanisms of monitoring and expertise, and its confidence-building measures, is more than necessary in managing those conflicts. There is no perfect or universal model for the settlement and resolution of conflicts, but we are firmly convinced that conflicts in Georgia, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Moldova, and the profound crisis in the eastern part of Ukraine, should be settled with respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of those countries. I should also highlight the need to learn lessons and take responsibility for future actions.

The security and prosperity of the Republic of Moldova are further undermined by the unresolved Transnistrian conflict, which impedes economic development and divides our society. The conflict stops development and places the Republic of Moldova unfairly in a grey area of history. The key parameters for settling the conflict are well known – all the international actors know what they are. They are respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the recognition of the international boundaries of the Republic of Moldova and giving the Transnistrian region a special status as part of the integrated State. Recently, a joint position of the Moldovan authorities was presented on the prospects for the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict between the two sides of the Dniester river.

The only way to settle the conflict is dialogue. We are convinced that it is possible to make progress if the needs of the people are placed at the top of the agenda, higher than ideology, and if all the partners have a shared agenda. There are no realistic impediments to solving the Transnistrian conflict, but it will not be easy or fast. We need to identify functional mechanisms in all areas, so that the Transnistrian region has a comfortable level of self-administration. Our State will then be fully functional, integrated and efficient. The solution will have to be supported by the people, and we will need a period of transition. We very much hope that, ultimately, we will build a reintegrated State that works for the welfare of all its citizens. I express my belief that the confidence-building measures project creates a favourable environment for identifying specific solutions to address concrete problems.

We highly appreciate the support of the Council of Europe and other international partners, and the existing negotiation platforms should be used to achieve tangible results and real progress. The Council of Europe has become a catalyst for democratic changes in the Republic of Moldova. I am speaking not just about standards, but about implementation. We are fully aware that our European prospects are directly proportionate to how well we deliver on our commitments. We understand how important it is that the Republic of Moldova delivers on its commitments before the Council of Europe – that will have a great impact on our European prospects and a key impact in ending the monitoring procedure by PACE. It is a priority in the government programme and our action plan from 2016 to 2018 to put an end to the monitoring process. I believe we are ready to end it, and that we have the capacity and ambition to achieve that.

We count further on the support of PACE in the implementation of reforms that will be needed in the post-monitoring dialogue. I assure you that the time has come for the Republic of Moldova to move to the post-monitoring stage. The Republic of Moldova has the potential to achieve that. Our citizens should be assured that they have a place in the European space of democratic values. We are expecting the next visit of the PACE co-rapporteurs for the Republic of Moldova. I am convinced that they will see first hand the progress achieved by our country in delivering on our commitments. That idea has been confirmed in PACE Resolution 1955 of October 2013.

The Republic of Moldova is a young democracy that is going through transformations and a process of consolidation. Our transformations are largely due to the expertise and support of the Council of Europe. Those results represent a clear mandate for us to continue with a process of integration and adaptation to European values, which are the bedrock for ensuring sustainable development and modernisation of the country. We will continue to promote a clear vision for Moldovan citizens in respect of our European prospects. We adhere to European values. It is important to continue those activities for the benefit of our citizens and our society, and to ensure the irreversibility of European standards. As I have said many times, the Republic of Moldova does not have a plan B. It has only one political ideal: European integration. We are convinced that the realisation of that ideal will bring better living standards for every Moldovan citizen.

As I said, we are experiencing global transformations, crises and challenges. Solutions can be found as long as there is firm commitment and responsibility. The best option is to act together in an environment in which we share the same values. History has proved to us that Europe is capable of overcoming its difficulties when it is based on co-operation, human rights and the rule of law. Despite the uncertainties and fears, the European path and project continues to inspire and mobilise. That is our country’s project. The capacity of Europe to adapt to changes without giving up principles offers a guarantee of a better future in an ever-changing world. My country, the Republic of Moldova, and its citizens, need a strong European family.