Anticorruption reforms are barely felt and without considerable real impact, report

Anticorruption reforms in Moldova are barely felt and have no considerable real impact, according to the quarterly report “Euromonitor”, published by the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT) and by the independent analytic center “Expert-Grup”. According to the authors, the cases of corruption dealt with so far involved low or medium rank officials, but hardly any high officials, Info-Prim Neo reports. ADEPT director Igor Botan said on Tuesday, November 27, during a round table that processes in the anticorruption sphere mostly concerned the improvement of the legislative framework according to international standards and recommendations and to documents of internal policies. The reformation of the National Anticorruption Center was delayed and wasn’t protected from excessive political influences. The rapporteurs are also worried about the non-functioning of the National Integrity Commission (CNI) and the non-application of the mechanism of verifying income, assets and interest declarations. The fight against high level corruption is an avoided topic. The very existence of the phenomenon is continuously denied, says Botan. The report shows that although authorities continue to improve the legal framework regarding the prevention and fight against torture, the investigation and trials of torture cases remain inefficient. The Law on Freedom of Expression had little impact because of the lack of information among judges and journalists. There is a lack of progress in the reformation of the “Teleradio-Moldova” Company and in the improvement of the legal framework regulating the activity of mass media. Igor Botan added that approaching the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict from the perspective of confidence-building measures brought moderate results, but consumed its potential. Moldovan authorities lack an alternative or complementary approach to the small steps tactic in order to convince Transnistrian leaders to discuss the problems that are essential for the long-term settlement of the conflict, which remains a “frozen” one. Russia’s massive financial and political support for the Transnistrian separatist regime motivates the Transnistrian leaders’ disinterest in tackling essential issues for settling the conflict. The report is a result of monitoring the process of fulfillment by Moldovan authorities of the commitments assumed within the European integration process between July and September. The report was published with the financial support of the Soros Moldova Foundation as part of the project “EU-Moldova relations: monitoring the progress in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy”.