Government's meetings to be broadcast live over Internet

The meetings of the executive will be broadcast live over the Internet. To watch the meetings online, one should access the option “Meetings of the Government Online” on the executive's official website www.gov.md, Info-Prim Neo reports. Depending on the Internet access speed, one can choose one of the proposed broadcast regimes (minimum technical requirements: speed from 384 Kbps, RAM from 256 MB, CPU from 1.2 GHz, video card from 128 MB. Adobe Flash Player.) In a communique, the Government says that the move is aimed at increasing transparency in its work. “It is a small, but important step designed to increase transparency in the executive's work. Other related steps will be taken in the near future. We intend to create conditions for the public not only see what we do over the Internet, but also to actively engage in decision making,” said Prime Minister Vlad Filat. The first meeting of the Government could be watched online on Monday, January 18. Last weekend, the National Council of NGOs, which includes more than 100 Moldovan nongovernmental organizations, called on the ruling parties to ensure full transparency in decision making. In particular, the Council asked the Presidential Office, the Parliament and the Government as well as the Ministries and regulatory agencies to take steps to ensure the live broadcast of the meetings and the storage of the recordings for public use, and the publication of all the draft legislative and normative documents on the official websites of the central public institutions. Also last weekend, the human rights NGOs criticized the government for lack of transparency in the process of appointing the ombudsman/ombudswoman.