Representatives of the main justice sector institutions and civil society of Moldova and Romania came together in Chisinau to exchange good practices in justice and the fight against corruption. Speaker of Parliament Adrian Candu voiced hope that the discussion platform will become a tradition and a format for debating ideas and proposals that Moldova can borrow from Romania’s experience in reforming the justice sector, IPN reports.
Adrian Candu said that since 2009, the justice sector reform has been a priority for Moldova. Owing to particular delays, the credibility of the law enforcement agencies diminished. “And this is reasonable as we, the politicians, didn’t manage to show sufficient political will so as to go till the end. The situation in the Republic of Moldova, the political and economic crisis we experienced shows that we no longer have excuses and time. What we tried and managed to do this year was to mobilize and lay the foundations of an independent, efficient and correct justice,” he stated.
Minister of Justice of Moldova Vladimir Cebotari said the state institutions during the past year showed unprecedented political determination in the reformation process. “The delays in working out reform strategies were the main indicator and the main argument that led to a deterioration in the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Moldova and the development partners. Today, the progress we made in reforming the justice sector, alongside the financial market reforms, is the first sign showing that the Republic of Moldova returns to discussions with the development partners,” he stated.
Minister of Justice of Romania Raluca Alexandra Pruna said the forum organized at such a high level shows an impressive solidarity exercise to which the two sides responded. “For Romania, the relationship with the Republic of Moldova is a durable theme on the public agenda. A consensus was reached, as you know, at the level of the Romanian political class, but the consensus existing at the level of Romanian society is even more important. The bilateral cooperation in justice has strategic values and represents an essential component for implementing the strategic partnership between the Republic of Moldova and Romania,” said the official.
Raluca Alexandra Pruna added that Romanian went through the reformation and modernization of the state institutions in the European integration process and will share its experience because the modernization of state institutions is impossible without really independent justice.
Romania’s Ambassador in Chisinau Daniel Ionita said the intergovernmental cooperation themes entered the DNA of the Romanian-Moldovan relations. This year Moldova showed the first positive signals in the field through the adoption of the package of laws on the reformation of the prosecution service. The first cases of corruption fighting in state institutions were reported. The country agreement of the IMF with Moldova, approved on November 7, shows that the initiated reforms were appreciated not only in Bucharest, but alsoi at international level.
