The law on noncommercial organizations was adopted by a unanimous vote in the final reading on June 11. The debates on the bill lasted for several hours and the Parliament’s commission for appointments and immunities had to be convened to discuss the amendments proposed after May 28. In the Parliament’s sitting, Socialist MP Vasile Bolea, who heads the commission, said that a number of the proposed amendments were withdrawn, IPN reports.

The MPs adopted an amendment providing that the noncommercial organizations in the election campaign will be unable to provide services and to financially or cost-free support election runners. They will also be unable to campaign. However, these organizations will be able to take action to promote the elections, to organize debates and to monitor the election campaign and the elections in the conditions stipulated by the Election Code.

The bill on noncommercial organizations was drafted by a working group created by the Ministry of Justice in 2016. This included representatives of civil society. The bill was repeatedly proposed for public debates by the Ministry and has all the necessary appraisals. It was given a first reading by Parliament on May 3, 2018. On May 28, 2020, the Parliament’s legal commission for appointments and immunities proposed adopting the bill in the final reading.

The draft law simplifies the registration of noncommercial organizations, providing also for the free registration of these, and removes the rigid internal organization structure imposed by the current legislation. It limits authorities’ possibilities of exerting pressure on NGOs and excludes the unjustified limitations on the founding of NGOs by particular categories of persons. It also bans the NGOs from supporting candidates in elections and sets clear limits on the relations between these and parties. The bill institutes the framework legislation on the financing and supporting of NGOs by the state.