22/10/2012 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 22.10.2012 – PACE co-rapporteurs Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC) and Piotr Wach (Poland, EPP/CD) praised the political will and high ambitions of the Moldovan authorities to fulfill the country's commitments and obligations towards the Council of Europe while awaiting concrete results of the democratic reforms in Moldova. "The election of the President of the Republic of Moldova in March 2012, which put an end to a 3-year political deadlock, strengthened political stability in the country. It gives now the opportunity to speed up the reforms and implement the important strategies adopted, in the field of the judiciary notably. The people in Moldova expect and deserve concrete results that will consolidate the state of law and secure their fundamental rights."
"The revision of article 78 of the Constitution has to be addressed in parliament to avoid repeated political deadlocks with regard to the election of the President. The fight against corruption, the reform of the Prosecution Office and the police and the independence of the judiciary are priority areas of action, a pre-requisite for the social and economic development of the country. All political parties should engage in a constructive dialogue to fix the legal framework that will sustain after elections," the co-rapporteurs added.
During their visit (15-19 October 2012), the co-rapporteurs addressed a number of issues with the partners of the ruling alliances and the opposition, related to the implementation of the Anti-Discrimination law, the state of the procedure after the closure of NIT TV station by the Broadcasting Council in April 2012 and the impact of the recently adopted law on the ban of the totalitarian symbols.
Lise Chistoffersen and Piotr Wach had a series of meetings with the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Moldovan delegation to the PACE, representatives of the political parties and the judicial authorities, as well as NGOs and the media. They also visited Transnistria.