The Constitutional Court will rule on Thursday on the complaints regarding the status of Gagauzia and the Electoral Code

IPN.md

8 July 2026
17:29

The Constitutional Court is set to rule on Thursday on the complaints regarding the constitutionality of some provisions of the Law on the special legal status of Gagauzia and the Electoral Code. The final arguments of the parties took place on Wednesday, reports IPN.

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Mihai Gheorghies, pointed out that the notification does not target the autonomy of Gagauzia, but the mechanisms through which regional authorities can condition the appointment of state officials. According to him, consultation and cooperation are compatible with the Constitution, however, prior agreement or mandatory proposal transforms the duties of central authorities into politically conditioned competencies at the regional level.

The official further stated that the constitutional provision regarding the three-fifths vote for amending the Gagauzia status law represents a procedural guarantee, but does not exclude constitutional control.

In turn, the lawyer of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, Iurie Margineanu, stated that the contested norms do not transfer decision-making powers to autonomy, as the appointment and dismissal of the heads of the targeted structures remain exclusively under the jurisdiction of the central authorities. In his opinion, the role of the People’s Assembly and the governor is limited to proposing candidates and does not affect the sovereignty of the state.

The Constitutional Court has connected the notification of the Gagauz People’s Assembly regarding some provisions of the Electoral Code with the one previously submitted by the Ministry of Justice. The GPA contests the norms related to the organization of the electoral authority in the autonomy, while the Ministry of Justice requests the verification of the provisions that assign the Assembly a role in the establishment of the regional electoral body and in the appointment procedures of the leadership of the territorial structures of the Police, SIS and the Justice Directorate in Gagauzia.

CC Gagauzia Ministry of Justice notifications Popular Assembly status The Electoral Code

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ANRE: The current gas tariff no longer covers the supplier’s acquisition costs

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The current price paid by consumers for natural gas no longer covers the supplier’s acquisition costs, and the difference accumulated since the beginning of the year has reached tens of millions of lei. This is one of the explanations presented by the National Agency for Energy Regulation regarding the need to revise the natural gas tariff, reports IPN.

In a press conference, the director of ANRE, Constantin Borosan, stated that the financial deviation accumulated by Energocom from January to July was estimated at 106 million lei. However, ANRE accepted 93 million lei, some expenses being considered unjustified.

According to him, at the beginning of February, the quotations on the Dutch TTF exchange, which form the basis of gas purchase contracts, were between 33 and 38 euros/MWh. After the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, prices doubled, and this situation persisted in the following months.

ANRE proposes a rate close to that requested by Energocom: 18.80 lei for a cubic meter of gas without VAT, about 60 bani less than the rate requested by the supplier. For domestic consumers, the proposed rate would reach 20.30 lei for a cubic meter, with VAT included. The final decision is to be made by the Board of Directors of ANRE.

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The Constitutional Court will rule on Thursday on the complaints regarding the status of Gagauzia and the Electoral Code

IPN.md

8 July 2026
17:29

CC Gagauzia Ministry of Justice notifications Popular Assembly status The Electoral Code

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Alexandru Arsenie: Four-five districts must be unified into a single administrative entity

by Elena Nistor 23.07.2026

The reform of local public administration is already delayed, and the way the authorities initiated this process leaves much to be desired. The statement belongs to the constitutional law expert, Alexandru Arsenie, and was made during the public debate “APL Reform: What legislative changes are essential for its successful implementation?”, organized by the IPN Press Agency. According to the expert, even two years ago a concept of administrative-territorial reorganization was presented to the country’s leadership, which envisaged the unification of several districts, but the initiative remained unanswered.

The expert reminded that the proposal for the reorganization of the second level of local public administration is not a new one, and that the central authorities have had enough time to analyze the concept.

“The Constitution stipulates that the districts represent second-level local public administrations, with the purpose of implementing laws uniformly. Two years ago, the Association of Independence Parliament Deputies presented to the country’s president, the Parliament’s president, and the Government a project to unify four to five districts into a single entity. But two years have passed and we have no response,” explained the constitutional law expert.

In his opinion, the administrative-territorial reform should include reducing the number of districts by merging them, without affecting the functioning of the essential state institutions in the territory.

“If we talk about the level of districts, there is the possibility and even the necessity of unifying five districts into a single one and maintaining the police, the prosecutor’s office, and the judicial bodies in that district. The district should be led by the district council together with the president. In this case, the state will function in the name of the people and for the people. I am no longer talking about the financial expenses for maintaining the administrative apparatus of the districts, expenses that are not justified,” Alexandru Arsenie further stated.

At the same time, the expert believes that the authorities have unjustifiably delayed the launch of the reform and criticizes the way the process is currently managed. “The reform is already delayed. It should have been started earlier. But for the way it was started now, the authorities deserve a grade of 2,” pointed out Alexandru Arsenie.

Disclaimer: This material was prepared by the IPN Press Agency, within the project “Local Public Administration Reform in Dialogue”, funded by the Ministry of Culture from the Media Subsidy Fund.

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