The Congress of Local Authorities (CALM) called on Parliament to immediately adopt the amendments to the Law on Local Public Finances. In a meeting of the CALM Executive Bureau, the Congress’ head Tatiana Badan, who is the mayor of Selemet village of Cimislia district, said the critical situation in which the given law found itself can be considered considerable regression in the decentralization process, IPN reports.

According to a communiqué from the CALM, mayors from all over the country express concerns and warn that the delay in adopting the new provisions will prevent making progress in ensuring local self-government.

The members of the Executive Bureau said that if the adoption of the law in the final reading is postponed or even annulled, the mayors will resort to drastic measures, including protests. In this connection, the mayor of Cimislia town Gheorghe Raileanu said that the reform is important as it is an essential principal based on which the settlements will develop.

Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca expressed his surprise at the rumors that the municipality is against this law. “Yes, we didn’t agree with the initial variant of the law, but the problems were fixed as a result of discussions. We thus do not have reasons to oppose the law,” he stated.

As a result of debates, the Executive Bureau decided that if the dialogue with the authorities does not produce the expected results, they will stage large-scale public events, including protests.

The bill with amendments to the Law on Local Public Finances was passed in two readings and is to be adopted in the third, final reading in the Parliament’s autumn session so that it takes effect on January 1, 2014. Under the law, there will be direct budgetary relations between the center and the mayor’s offices and the amounts transferred from the budget will depend on the number of residents of the settlements.