Representatives of Civil Society Organizations decided to create a Civic Group that will focus on the relationship between Moldova and the International Monetary Fund, especially the process of negotiating, signing and implementing the new memorandum between Moldova and the IMF. These demand transparency in the negotiation of the new accord, IPN reports.

The Group’s requisition, addressed to Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet and the IMF’s Resident Representative in Moldova Armine Khachatryan, says the negotiation of a new memorandum with the IMF must contain, besides a strategy for solving the current budgetary problems of Moldova, a firm long-term commitment of the Government for profound and just reforms in the national economy. Thus, the goal of the Civic Group is to contribute to the bilateral relations by pragmatic public policy proposals aimed at ensuring the accomplishment of this desideratum.

The Groups requests the Government of Moldova and the IMF mission, during the negotiation of the new memorandum, to provide access to relevant information of public interest about the situation in the banking system, the losses sustained as a result of the bank frauds, the fiscal budgetary situation, etc. It also asks organizing debates on these issues, which would involve representatives of the Group, and on the draft memorandum, by indicating all the budgetary and policy commitments.

The Civic Group members asks for clear provisions concerning the institutional justice sector reform and corruption fighting, reforms that would strengthen the security of the banking system and would increase the independence and efficiency of the National Bank of Moldova, structural reforms concerning the labor market and pension system and profound reforms in the energy sector.

Based on the aforementioned, the Group requests the Government to make public the Moldovan side’s proposals for the memorandum with the IMF and to organize thematic public meetings with the Civic Group members and other representatives of civil society. The IMF is asked to publish all the analyses and conclusions of its mission in Moldova and to stage a meeting with members of the Civic Group and other representatives of civil society.

The Civic Group will monitor the negotiation process and the way the mentioned principles were respected by the sides.