The League for Consumer Rights Protection (LADC) recommends creating an autonomous authority for consumer protection under the Government, which will be independent from the Metrology and Standardisation Service, Info-Prim Neo reports. This is one of the principal recommendations of the first monitoring report on consumer protection in Moldova prepared by LADC with the support of Eurasia Foundation. At a news conference on January 30, LADC chairman Roman Mihaes said that the Metrology and Standardisation Service is empowered to certify and standardise the products and cannot be an objective consumer protection organisation. The method of coordinating the protection of consumer’s rights by the Service is of a Soviet type, Roman Mihaes stressed. He also said that the Service does not have regional offices and specialised equipment and inspectors that would immediately react to the people’s complaints and would examine the products in shops or on the market. Veaceslav Palade, programme coordinator of Eurasia Foundation, said that the initial version of the National Consumer Protection Strategy for 2008 – 2012 envisaged the creation of an independent authority, but the Government excluded this stipulation later for the reason that there are no possibilities of creating a new organisation at the moment. The LADC report says that many monopolist entities do not observe consumers’ rights. Some of the suppliers refuse to enter into direct contracts even if the legislation requires this. The consumers do not transfer the payments for services directly to the suppliers and this is another serious problem. The consumers often do not inform when their rights are violated because they do not possess information or because they are not encouraged to appeal to the relevant bodies. LADC recommends organising awareness-raising campaigns and producing two monthly programmes on consumer protection at the national radio station and television channel. The people do not use the legal instruments to protect their rights. Steps must be taken to facilitate the access to justice and to introduce alternative mechanisms for solving conflicts – mediation and arbitration institutions, LADC experts say. The first LADC report is an overview of the consumer rights situation in Moldova that analyses the institutional and legal frameworks. The League intends to draw up monitoring reports each quarter. Prepared by the experts Roman Mihaes and Vasile Rotaru with the contribution of other specialists, the reports will be presented at news conferences and will be posted on the websites www.proconsumator.md and www.consumer.info.md .