print version

Elected on March 6 and validated on March 17, 2005, Moldova's 16th Legislature (or the 5th Legislature since Moldova became independent) held the first sitting on March 24, when it elected the speaker and deputy speaker on behalf of the majority faction, established the date of presidential election, and accepted the resignation of the cabinet of ministers. Lawmakers created the permanent bureau and permanent commissions on April 1.

Parliamentarians elected the chief of state with a plenty of votes on April 4. The newly-elected president was sworn in and officially invested for a four-year mandate on April 7, at a joint festive session of the Parliament and Constitutional Court, with participation of many invitees.

Lawmakers elected the second deputy speaker on April 8, while the chief of state proposed the candidacy of prime minister, entrusting him to create a new governmental team within two weeks. Also, the chief of state addressed the parliament and highlighted the need of a cardinal reform of the state administration, a reform which will support the implementation of tasks of the executive and country in general:

• Implementation of the Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper;
• Implementation of the European Union's Action Plan for Moldova;
• Implementation of the medium-term spending programme;
• Implementation of the "Moldovan Village" National Programme;
• Implementation of the national society information programme;
• Elaboration and implementation of a sustainable human development programme;
• Elaboration and implementation of a programme on economic liberalisation, debureaucracy and deregulation, including reduction of corruption rate in police bodies;
• Territorial reintegration of the country;
• Maintenance of internal political stability and external political balance;
• Maintenance of social orientation of all the state programmes and projects, all practical actions;
• Implementation of the national programme on studying of official language by maintaining and developing in parallel the ethni-cultural and linguistic diversity;
• Creation of a modern and competitive mass media, which would comply with democratic standards and state interests;
• Creation of a new generation of electors attached to basic values of Moldovan state (freedom, opening, dynamism, fast economic growth, poly-ethnic and bilingualism);
• Active promotion of country's image as region with strategic advantages in investment and cultural areas unique in Eastern Europe.

Undoubtedly, these tasks will serve as base of the governing programme which the candidate to the prime minister post will unveil soon in the Parliament and the new governmental team will have to be very competent in order to implement them.

The parliament started the examination and adoption of draft legislative documents on April 8. Obviously, they are part of the old documents which the precedent parliament failed to adopt.

Plenary talks showed that there are no big differences between parliamentary factions in these sectors, with lawmakers adopting several drafts almost unanimously.

I. Decision on competences of parliamentary commissions

Commentary by ADEPT: The acting Parliament created only nine parliamentary commissions, while the permanent commission for public administration took over the former competence of the environment commission.

Following are the structures and competences of permanent commissions of legislature:

Juridical commission for appointments and immunities: constitutional regulations on civil, penal, administrative law, civil and administrative procedure; juridical organisation, status of magistrates and prosecutor's office, election legislation, legislation on parties and public associations, parliamentary discipline, immunities and appointments.

Commission for economic policy, budget and finances: legislative framework on policy on sustainable development and insurance of economic growth; budgetary, fiscal and customs policy; financial-crediting and monetary-bank policy; investment activity; insurance market; protection of producers and consumers; internal and external trade; optimization of activity field of real sector of national economy (licensing, certification, accreditation, evaluation, etc.); optimization of privatisation and property.

Commission for national security, defence and public order: national security issues; conduct of activity of specialized structures of executive power; combat of crime, corruption and terrorism, insurance of public order; guard and state border regime; reform of Armed Forces, social and juridical protection of military; conduct of activity of customs bodies, penitentiary system and Emergency Situations Department; protection of state secret.

Commission for foreign policy and European integration: foreign policy programmes; readjustment of Moldova's legislation to international standards and control on implementation of the European Union's Action Plan for Moldova; interparliamentary cooperation; treaties and other international documents.

Commission for human rights: human rights; problems of national minorities; problems of religions; citizenship; migration; insurance of equal chances for women and men; protection of external communities and refugees.

Commission for public administration, environment and territorial development: central and local public administration; administrative-territorial organisation; environment protection, natural geosystems and biosystems; rural development; tourism.

Commission for culture, science, education, youth, sport and mass media: education; youth; culture and cultural-artistic institutions; national cultural patrimony; scientific research, inventions and innovations; sport; mass media, advertisement.

Commission for agriculture and food industry: programmes on agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, livestock, fishing, forestry, hunting fund, and food industry; ecological agriculture; quality of food products; veterinary and phyto-sanitary control; protection of origin names of agricultural and food products; forms of property, association, crediting, leasing; land fund.

Commission for social protection, healthcare and family: social protection; insurance and state social assistance; healthcare and medical assistance; problems of family, mother and child; work relations and salary.

Representatives of the Communist faction will head five commissions in line with the political configuration of the Parliament:

• Juridical commission for appointments and immunities (chairman Victor Turcan);
• Commission for economic policy, budget and finances (chairman Nicolae Bondarciuc);
• Commission for national security, defence and public order (chairman Iurie Stoicov);
• Commission for foreign policy and European integration (chairman Sergiu Stati);
• Commission for culture, science, education, youth, sport and mass media (chairman Victor Stepaniuc).

Representatives of the former electoral alliance Democratic Moldova Bloc, represented by the parliamentary faction Our Moldova Alliance at present, will lead two commissions:

• Commission for public administration, environment and territorial development (chairman Veaceslav Untila);
• Commission for agriculture and food industry (chairman Valeriu Cosarciuc).

The faction representing the Christian Democratic People's Party will head one commission:

• Commission for human rights (chairman Stefan Secareanu).

To mention that all the leaders of this parliamentary faction hold high ranking posts: Iurie Rosca is Deputy Speaker, Vlad Cubreacov is chairman of the Christian Democratic faction, and Stefan Secareanu is chairman of the parliamentary commission.

The Democratic Party of Moldova will represent the commission for social protection, healthcare and family, while its member Valentina Buliga will head it.

II. Parliament's decision on approval of the regulation on management of money from the vine growing sustenance fund and means used for administration of state-owned trademarks

Commentary by ADEPT: This regulation establishes the modality of management and allocation of money for partial compensation of spending for creation of vineyards and coverage of expenses related to administration of state-owned trademarks.

It establishes that the Agri-Industrial Department Moldova-Vin administrates this fund which comprises about 60 million lei. The incomes of the fund are raised at the Central Treasury on account of the Finance Ministry.

The means of the fund are used for the following:

• support for creation of vineyards;
• administration of state-owned trademarks, their protection in country and abroad.

Business and individuals who planted at least five hectares of vine starting spring 2004, in line with creation project, will benefit from partial compensation of spending for vineyards.

The partial compensation of spending for planting of vineyards in the amount of 25,000 lei per hectare of useful surface is available for businesses and individuals who planted vines for grapes and grafts by using grafted seeding material of sorts included in the register of sorts of plants, as well as plantations carrying grafts with vine carrying grafts included in the same register.

The applicants must present the following documents in order to benefit from partial compensation:

• business registration certificate;
• documents confirming the right to exploit or right to ownership on agricultural fields registered with territorial cadastral offices, as well as the cadastral plan of the field where vine was planted, approved by local public administration authorities of first level;
• excerpt from the vine planting project;
• document on planting of seeding material approved by local public administration authorities and confirmed by specialized authorities;
• documents confirming the purchase and quality of vine cuttings;
• bank identification data.

To mention that the law for completion of the law on brands and origin names of products was among the first laws approved at the beginning of activity of the Parliament in 2001, and it established the following:

• The exclusive right does not cover the trademarks which two or more businesses legally owned and used till January 1, 1992;
• Existing trademarks which two or more businesses legally used till January 1, 1992 become state property. Thus, we see that the legislative norms approved four years ago had certain positive results which allow the raising of financial resources that can be reallocated to producers and support the vine growing sector.

III. Law on amendment and completion of the Fiscal Code

Commentary by ADEPT: The Parliament excluded the mandatory announcement and fiscal registration of temporary bank accounts opened when the enterprise was created, by passing this law. It is presumed that this measure will additionally encourage the entrepreneurship and will limit the existing practices regarding sanctions for failure to communicate within two days the opening of temporary bank accounts, which could be used for only one kind of financial operations.

IV. Draft law on leasing

Commentary by ADEPT: The draft adopted in the first lecture exposes the leasing law in a new version, modernising the most of its provisions.

The new regulations particularly call for:

1. Extension of categories of goods which can be the object of leasing contract.
2. Individuals - consumers have no right at present to use and/or acquire goods on basis of a leasing operation and the law seeks the annulment of these restrictions.
3. Defining of operational leasing and financial leasing.
4. Introduction of an adequate protection for rights of locator in leasing contract and efficient legal remedies for reinstatement of ownership on goods. Thus, the shorter procedure for reception of goods, stipulated by the Code of Civil Procedure of Moldova, will be established.