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During this week numerous public officials declared that the Republic of Moldova had respected all the conditions stipulated in the Memorandum signed with IMF and there was no obstacle in resuming the external crediting of our country. The respective declarations have been accompanied by a febrile parliamentary activity. Parliament continued the examination of those draft laws that Moldova is to adopt according to its obligations in order to obtain the favorable vote of the IMF. Thus, during plenary sessions of 8-9 November Parliament examined and passed Law on Insolvency, Law on modifying the Law on financial institutions, and did away with decision that prohibited the wood export.

Also, Parliament paid much attention to the legislative acts from social, financial and fiscal domains as well as to some complex acts developed by Government according to its program of activity.

I. Legislative acts finally passed:

1. Law on modifying and completing the Law on financial institutions that provides the introduction of new regulations regarding the following:

1. Definition of these notions: "administrator", "affiliated to some person", "crediting documents", etc.
2. Right of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) to refuse the release of authorization when the capital of the solicitant doesn't correspond to the quantum established and expenditures related to the creation of the bank.
3. Foreign bank's obligation to notify NBM about the opening of a representation in the Republic of Moldova as well as these branches to operate just in the domains of informing, linking and representing.
4. It is necessary that NBM approved beforehand the opening of commercial banks' branches and representations in the Republic of Moldova.
5. It is necessary that NBM gave a written permission for concluding transactions with shares from the bank's capital.
6. Power of the executor of bank credit contract' s title.
7. Hardening the sanctions that might be applied by the NBM in order to punish the banks that committed illegal acts as well as expanding the list of actions that may be considered as illegal, etc.

ADEPT Commentary: The initiative of adopting the respective modifications belong to NBM that thus strengthens its positions and obtain additional tools to control the bank system of the country. Evidently this thing caused vehement protests among the representatives of commercial banks. They individually or through the Banks Association of Moldova expressed their deepest dissatisfaction with the new regulations calling them unconstitutional and discriminatory.

2. Draft law on modifying and completing the Law on Promoting and Protecting Small Business that provides establishing new regulations regarding the following:

1. criteria of relating industrial units to micro and small industrial units (based on the number of employees and sums of sells);
2. excluding some types of industrial units from the sphere of applying the law: financial institutions, fiduciary and ensurance companies, funds of investments, Lombard loans etc.
3. funds for supporting and developing small business (goal of creation and way of activity, use of sources and control on their use);
4. regulating planned controls by representatives of state control bodies ( not more than once a year), etc.

ADEPT Commentary: We want to remind our readers that the necessity of supporting and promoting small business has been mentioned by the majority of the last 5 Governments, but just the I. Ciubuc (1997) Government succeeded to promote efficient and substantial amendments in the legislation that regulates the activity of the respective economic agents. Tarlev Government succeeded to promote the first essential amendment to the respective law. This is in line with governmental program that stipulates support for the representatives of middle and small business.

3. Law on completing the Code of Civil Procedure and Law on State Tax through which the district councils have been exempted of paying state taxes when the administrative-territorial units that they represent adopted measures for their patrimonial interests.

ADEPT Commentary: This amendment has its logic and motivation. It will create a situation favorable to industrial units administered by public authorities that unlike private economic agents will be exempted of paying considerable sums of money and thus will have the opportunity to appeal to courts when they don't have sufficient reasons and are not sure of legality of their acts.

II. Legislative acts passed in the first reading

We would like to especially mention several drafts passed in this period:

1. Draft law on forestalling and fighting money laundering that contains important provisions referring to the following:

1. notions of "money laundering", "illegal incomes" and "suspicious financial operations);
2. procedure of recording suspicious and limited financial operations
3. limiting the action of commercial secret
4. statute of National Office for Forestalling and Fighting Money Laundering;
5. international cooperation in this domain, etc.

ADEPT Commentary: This is one of the most important laws in the field of fighting corruption and organized criminality, and the delay of its adoption was enough to form an inadequate public opinion and suppositions that "somebody" didn't want this law.

2. Draft law on Diplomatic Service that include important and new provisions referring to the following:

1. diplomatic service and its objectives;
2. system, basis functions of diplomatic institutions;
3. personnel of diplomatic institutions, its rights, specific obligations, social benefits and wages;
4. diplomatic rank, etc.

ADEPT Commentary: It is important to mention, in the context of this law, the situation created between Presidency Apparatus and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) after some representatives of MFA disclosed the new concept of external policy of the Republic of Moldova.
If so far the diplomatic activity was a closed circuit, for "intimate people", now, once this law has been adopted, the way and conditions of activity of the diplomatic service shall have a more transparent character and possibly more accessible for people with merits who really deserve it.

3. Draft law on recounting pensions. It provides an increase, from December 1, 2001, for age limits, invalidity and successors pensions.

ADEPT Commentary: It is said that there will be an increase on average by 36 percent of the established pensions' quantum according to the provisions of the Law no 156/XIV of 14.10.1998.

4. Draft law on modifying art. 10 of the Law on Petitioning. It stipulates the application of new regulations that would allow the examination of the anonymous petitions when they contain information related to state and public interests.

ADEPT Commentary: This draft has been submitted by the President of the Republic of Moldova. Government negatively evaluated it, and its examination caused a lot of discussions in Parliament. Numerous deputies declared that this law would signify a return to the practices of totalitarian regime.

5. Draft law on control over alcohol, educating people in the spirit of abstinence and eliminating the consequences of alcohol abuse and unauthorized use of drugs and other psychotropic substances.

ADEPT Commentary: The name of the draft clearly reflects its contents. Its authors propose new administrative and social measures to fight harmful social phenomena.