Setting up of National Participatory Council drags on

The process of setting up the National Participatory Council (NPC), a civil society consultative body, has been suspended until July 25. So far, 25 nongovernmental organizations have applied for participation, Info-Prim Neo reports. “We have extended this term and we hope that the civil society will be more receptive”, Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanyi stated at a meeting of the National Commission for European Integration earlier this week. The NCP is supposed to work under the auspices of the prime minister. The Council will participate in the process of developing, monitoring and assessing national policies, and will also create the institutional framework for offering expert advice to the central authorities. The suggestions and the recommendations of the NCP will be submitted for consideration to the inter-ministerial committee for strategical planning and will ensure a communication link between the civil society and the decision-makers. The Council will be composed of 35 members. The organizations which will depute members to the NCP have to meet several criteria, among which the requirement to be a non-profit and nongovernmental organization with activities in Moldova, to display civic responsibility by participating in the public life, to have a rich experience in the field. It is also important that these organizations have participated in providing expert advice in the process of formulating regional, sectoral, or national policies.