The civil society organizations should be supported by the states and the taxpayers, not only by foreign donors. Only this way, will they be able to develop and contribute to the promotion of democratic values. Related opinions were stated in a roundtable meeting involving leaders and experts of national and foreign NGOs, Info-Prim Neo reports. “For the nongovernmental organizations to work more efficiently, they should be financed by the state, not by donors. We are now dependent on foreign donors and if they disappear one day, the NGOs will remain without financing,” said the executive director of the National Assistance and Information Center for NGOs “Contact” Serghei Neikovchen. The state grants are a possible method of financing NGOs. “The legislation should be modified so that the state could provide such grants to nongovernmental organizations,” said Serghei Neikovchen. The NGOs could also be financed from the contributions of the taxpayers as in the Czech Republic, Poland and other countries. It is proposed allotting 2% of the income tax to the civil society organizations. Nilda Bullain, the head of the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, said a number of laws regulating the NGO sector have been adopted lately, including the law on volunteering and the law on social services. “These laws have a positive impact on the Moldovan NGOs, but they contain shortcomings that should be removed. For example, the Government should approve regulations that will enable it to directly help the NGOs,” said Nilda Bullain. Project director at the Academy for Educational Development Morana Smodlaka Krajnovic said the NGOs cannot develop without the Government's support, while the country cannot develop without such organizations. “The NGOs must diversify the financing methods so that they are not fully dependent on foreign donors,” she said. Ion Dogotari, law consultant with the Ministry of Finance, said a study will be carried out as a result of the discussions and recommendations made by the experts, which will help the NGOs to draft policies. The workshop was organized by the Budapest-based European Center for Not-for-Profit Law that promotes the strengthening of a supportive legal environment for civil society in Europe, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe, by developing expertise and building capacity in legal issues affecting not-for-profit organizations and public participation.