Civil society will become more actively involved in decision-making, project

Civil society will get more actively involved in the decision-making process at governmental and parliamentary levels. A plan of action to this effect was worked out in political consultations that involved European experts and Moldova’s civil society, Info-Prim Neo reports. The plan is part of the joint EU – Council of Europe project “Moldova Dialog – Present and Future”. The improvement of the legal framework and transparency in decision-making and raising of awareness of the interested sides are only some of the planned steps. According to the team leader of “Moldova Dialog” Maris Spindzuks, the areas of subsequent development on a long and short term will facilitate the involvement of the NGOs in decision-making. There will be developed a transparent system for ensuring the participation of civil society in all the stages of the political decision-making process, starting with the policy idea and ending with the approval of the regulations and policies at Government level or of bills in Parliament. “There is not structured dialog between the players involved. Most of the problems are related to the awareness, communication culture and the capacity of the human resources in the public consultancy process,” said Maris Spindzuks. Anita Dudina, expert of the project and head of the Latvian Parliament’s Information Department, said that civil society is the prime mover that helps ensure the respect for the human rights. “It is important that the planned measures do not remain on paper. The results we have are definite, while the development course is continuous,” stated Anita Dudina. The project “Moldova Dialog – Present and Future” is implemented with financial support from the Council of Europe and the European Union within the Join Democracy Support in Moldova Program. It was launched during the post-electoral events of April 2009.