MEC completes expert examination of Guillotine II legislative documents

The working group of the State Commission for the regulation of the entrepreneurial activity has completed the expert examination of the legislative documents part of Guillotine II, Minister of Economy and Trade Igor Dodon told a news conference on May 29. In his words, during about six months the members of the working group, in concert with the independent consultants of the World Bank’s project “Competitiveness Enhancement in Moldova”, have reviewed the legislative documents concerning all the areas of the national economy. Over the past two months alone, there were reviewed and approved amendments to 84 laws, such as the Civil, Fiscal and Customs codes, and the State Enterprise Law. Dodon said that this document aims at reducing administrative barriers that hinder the development of the entrepreneurial environment and the growth of the small and middle-sized business in Moldova, as well as at optimising the procedures for licensing and for issuing different authorisations. At the same time, the working group has suggested the annulment of the laws on social protection, on secondary material resources, and on domestic trade. As a replacement, the group worked out the draft law on amending and completing certain legislative documents, which is expected to be discussed on Wednesday at the meeting of the Government, and subsequently submitted to Parliament for consideration. The authors of the draft law believe that the amendments will lead to a higher level of transparency in the institutions that oversee, regulate, coordinate and issue authorisations. The draft represents a follow-up of the structural reforms implemented through Guillotine I. Attending the press conference, Edward Brown, World Bank Country Manager for Moldova, said that the draft law is welcome, as it will contribute to enhancing the business climate, which will certainly lead to the development of the small and middle-sized business in Moldova. Brown mentioned that the preparation of this document has engaged WB experts, representatives from associations of foreign investors and domestic manufacturers, which enabled the working group to take into account all the parties’ opinions. The Legislature is expected to examine the draft law by August 11.