In brief from Parliament

[Inebriated drivers to be deprived of licenses up to 3 years if caught drunk] The drivers caught inebriated may lose their license from 6 months to 3 years, may be fined or arrested for 15 days, as the Parliament revised the Contraventional Code on December 18, following a proposal put up by President Vladimir Voronin. The Code passed by the Parliament in October provided the deprivation of the right to drive from six months to one year. The head of the state asks to harshen the sanctions, as “the number of grave road accidents resulting in a big number of deaths has increased lately.” The Parliament has also raised the fine for not buckling the safety belt, for speeding and for talking over the phone while driving. The new Contraventional Code is due to enter force on May 31 2009. Premier Zinaida Greceanai recently proposed to deprive inebriate drivers from licenses up to 5 years. During the first 10 months of the year, 2,449 road crashes were recorded in the country, as 393 people died, and 3,030 got injured. [Intelligence officers to check functionaries] The Parliament has okayed the Service of Information and Security (SIS) to check the holders of public offices and the candidates to them. The Communist MPs approved a draft law in this respect on December 18, Info-Prim Neo reports. The verification will be done with the written agreement of the functionary. The refusal will serve as ground not to employ him/her or to dismiss him/her. The public servant will fill in a questionnaire answering questions about personal data, citizenship, information on his/her parents, parents-in-law and children, information about his/her financial situation, penal antecedents, political affiliation, etc. After the checkup, the SIS will present its view to be taken into consideration in stating the person's compatibility with the public office. According to the Government, which authored the draft, the initiative is to prevent and combat corruption in public administration and to prevent persons threatening the national security from occupying public positions. The draft will take force 3 months being published in Monitorul Oficial. [Social Democrats leave Parliament's floor in protest] The 4 Social-Democratic MPs have abandoned the Parliament's hall Thursday protesting against the majority faction which they say “does not notice or does not want to notice the creeping crisis,” but also against the opposition colleagues, “which stage street democracy, consequently destabilizing the situation in the country.” PSD leader Dumitru Braghis stated “Moldova probably remains the only country in the world not having adopted an anti-crisis plan and not undertaking systemic anti-crisis steps. Consequently, the country may really slip into the gulf of the economic crisis.” Braghis asks the Steady Bureau to consider the proposals made a month ago by the PSD concerning the anti-crisis measures, to include them into the order of the day of the Parliament till the year-end. [Parliament to spend 79.15 M lei lei in 2009 ] The MPs needed no debates to adopt the Parliament's 2009 budget, in amount of 79.15 million lei. The costs are to be incurred by the parliament's staff, auto fleet and servicing. 3.8 million lei will go for salaries, 2.1 million for duty trips. 4.2 million will be used for revamp works. [Parliament modifies 2008 budget] The Parliament endorses the modification of the 2008 budget as suggested by the Government. The incomes will rise 570.2 million lei to 15.568 billion lei, as the expenses will grow 965.5 million lei to reach 16.063 billion. The budget deficit is to be made up for from privatizations. The Government expects to gain 900 million lei from selling state-owned stakes in companies till the end of the year. [Asylum seeking to be regulated by new law] The asylum institution will be regulated through a new law, the Parliament adopted Thursday. The law contains provisions as to the legal status of aliens seeking protection, and other procedures. [New powers to social funds] The population social support funds, both national and the local ones, will provide help to people having suffered from emergencies, or to bring home corpses of relatives having died abroad. This new power has been endorsed by the Legislature on December 18. [MPs leave for vacation] The Parliament fall session will end on December 26. The parliamentarians will return by mid January from their last vacation in the present Legislature.