“Civil society needs closer ties with the public authorities”, stated Vasile Tarlev, ex-Prime Minister and also the current leader of the Centrist Union, at a conference themed “The Role of Civil Society in Realizing Moldova's National Policy Concept”. The conference was organized on Saturday by the Perspectiva-INT University and the Association “Consiliul Popular”, Info-Prim Neo reports. In the same context, Vasile Tarlev says that “in Moldova the cooperation between civil society and the public authorities is rather good, that is why we should not be indifferent and faultfinding, but should apply the laws. I think civil society must be the main pillar the state should rest on. I personally faced such problems and I consider that the application of the laws into life is a problem.” According to Doctor of Law Tudor Bantos, it is important to build the legal framework that would create a healthy balance between civil society and the public authorities. He considers that the cooperation between the two sides is quite poor and the public authorities do not pay heed to the problems of the civil society. Father Vasile Ciobanu, senior priest at St. Nicolas Church in Costesti, Ialoveni district, says that the Church is a promoter of culture, science and art. It is older than the state and constitutes an important part if the civil society and aims to contribute to building a functional partnership between the two sides. The intention of the conference was to raise awareness of the public authorities of the need to engage civil society in the social and economic life of the country, including by implementing diverse projects. The event was attended by Members of Parliament, civil society representatives, students, leaders of political parties, etc.