The Council of Europe became in time an agent of democratic changes in the Republic of Moldova. Such a message was transmitted by Prime Minister Pavel Filip in a speech given in the plenary sitting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Premier spoke about the importance of the partnership between the Republic of Moldova and the Council of Europe and the essential reforms implemented in Moldova with support from and in accordance with the recommendations of the PACE, IPN reports.
“We are connected by a history of 22 years of cooperation and 25 years of independence, felt through a whole string of radical changes: from the reformation and adjustment of the normative, constitutional framework to the creation of institutions and changes in mentality,” stated Pavel Filip.
The Premier spoke about the main results achieved in the cooperation between Moldova and the PACE and the Council of Europe’s monitoring committees. Among them are the implementation of the justice sector reformation strategy, coming into force of the law on the reformation of the prosecution service, enforcement of the law on political parties and electoral campaign funding, institution of an efficient mechanism for coordinating human trafficking combating policies, etc.
Pavel Filip said all reforms under implementation are stipulated in the programs of cooperation included in the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2017-2020, which was officially launched in Chisinau on May 30, 2017. “The previous action plan, for 2013-2016, brought a series of palpable results nationwide and I am sure that together with the Council of Europe and the member states, we will manage to stimulate the expected impacts in the essential sectors of the Council of Europe,” he stated.
The Premier approved of the work of the joint mechanism of the European Union - Council of Europe Eastern Partnership Programmatic Cooperation Framework. After two years of implementation, this instrument proved its efficiency in optimizing the allocation of resources for implementing relevant regional and bilateral projects.
As to the Transnistrian conflict, Pavel Filip reiterated that the dialogue is the only way by which a solution can be identified to this and, if the real needs of the people are put above the ideologized positions, progress on this segment can be made.
At the end of his speech, the Prime Minister underlined that the completion of the monitoring procedure of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe remains Moldova’s major objective and this priority is stipulated in the Moldovan Government’s program and action plan for 2016-2018.
