Liberal lawmakers propose linguistic amendment to legislation on petitions

The official answers to the petitions and inquiries to the public authorities must be provided in the official language, according to a legislative proposal authored by Liberal MPs Ion Hadirca and Valeriu Munteanu, Info-Prim Neo reports. However, in the areas heavily populated by Ukrainians, Russians or Bulgarians, the answer will be provided in the official language or in Russian, and in the areas heavily populated by Gagauz people, the answers will be provided in the official language, the Gagauz language or in Russian. The Liberals argue that the Petition Law insufficiently regulates the linguistic aspect. “This proposed change doesn't limit in any way the right of the people to petition but rather helps to standardize the related administrative procedures, enhancing the quality of the process of examining the petitions and enforcing the ensuing decisions”, the two lawmakers said in a note accompanying the bill. They further observe that thousands of public servants, who are required by the law and their job obligations to know and speak Romanian only, are often compelled to provide official answers in Russian as well. The Liberals also remark that the average age of the body of public servants in Moldova has dropped, and those aged 25-30 are not sufficiently proficient in Russian, nor the law requires them to be so. This, according to them, affects the quality of the provided answers. The current legislation provides that the answers must be given in the language in which the petition was formulated.