Mihai Ghimpu: The power and civil society did not cooperate in Moldova

The society is not democratic when the power does not cooperate with the civil society, Head of Parliament Mihai Ghimpu said at the annual conference themed “Cooperation between Parliament and the Civil Society”. According to him, the civil society acts like a 'filter' for the governors, but such a filter did not work during the last few years, says the Parliament's press service, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. Mihai Ghimpu said the civil society in Moldova is healthy and active and is trusted by the population. “Preconditions have been created for an effective cooperation between the legislative body and the NGOs, for the whole society's benefit. This cooperation can serve as an example for other state institutions,” Ghimpu said. Stressing that the Parliament treats all the nongovernmental organizations equally, Mihai Ghimpu urged the NGOs to actively participate in the formulation and assessment of legislative documents. Most of the projects are submitted by the Government. According to the Speaker, in this process the representatives of the civil society must cooperate with the ministries and departments and then with the parliamentary commissions. He stressed that every commission has councils of experts who examine the legislative documents and these councils should include representatives of the civil society. The MPs, employees of the Parliament's apparatus and representatives of the civil society who took part in the conference discussed practical aspects of the cooperation process and of the process of insuring transparency in decision making.