The government during the last few months worked practically without control on the part of civil society and such a situation is not accepted by activists. The government is also not satisfied that NGOs’ appraisals for a number of initiatives are absent. Therefore, in the joint meeting of the Government and Parliament with civil society in the evening of April 27, it was decided to set up a working group that will suggest new mechanisms for restoring the cooperation between the government and civil society within a month, IPN reports.
Prime Minister Pavel Filip said that when he accepted the post of Premier, he was aware of the difficult situation in society. “You do not have a dreamer or an adventurer in front of you. I realized that I will manage a government that is not trusted. That’s why I decided to start with the difficult problems. You should not believe that we do it superficially when we discuss with the IMF. We are aware of the reforms that we must do. We had many meetings with civil society and I’m glad when permanent communication instruments are identified. I’m full ready to communicate,” he stated.
The Premier noted that several cooperation options were suggested in the meeting. “I do not rule out that a better option can be identified within the working group. But I want very good cooperation and consultation to exist so that we are sure that the documents are of a high quality,” he said.
Head of Parliament Andrian Candu told the journalists after the meeting that a working group will be constituted to work out the best cooperation solutions within 30 days. “I hope we will have the best cooperation options at the end of May and we will be able to ensure transparency and communication between the government and civil society. The Government and Parliament are looking for a dialogue and cooperation partner, which should also exert particular pressure so as to ensure transparency, efficiency and quality. During the last three months, the Government and Parliament worked without being monitored by civil society. That’s why we should re-launch the existing mechanisms or create new ones,” he stated.
Alexei Buzu, who represented the NGO Council, said after the meeting that they discussed a number of options for stimulating the cooperation between the Government-Parliament and civil society. “We will create a working group that will consist of representatives of NGOs and civic activists who, consulting the Government, Parliament and the development partners, will suggest the necessary solutions. We expect that in the case of structural decisions, the justice sector reform and the reform in the banking sector, civil society will be consulted, while the recommendations will be added to the draft laws so that the people feel that the reforms are done for them,” he stated.
