The Moldovan Parliament on Friday, July 4, passed in final reading the Law on Public Office and the Status of the Public Office Holder, Info-Prim Neo reports. The law defines the status of the public official and the legal relations between them and the public authorities. According to the law-makers, this law aims to ensure the functioning of a stable, professional, impartial, transparent, and effective public service in the interest of the society and the state. The law conditions the holding of the public office on the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova. The public official also must be proficient in “the Moldovan language” and other languages largely used in the area of his/her office. In addition, the law stipulates a mixed system of offering public offices: internal selection (through advancement or transfer) and external recruitment (on a competition basis). The law introduces the requirement to annually assess the professional performance of the public officials. If the results are positive, there are three ways to reward a public official: advancement on the pay scale; advancement on the professional degree scale; and promotion in rank. The Opposition MPs objected, in particular, to the provisions according to which the public office holders may go on a strike only on condition that the activity of the public administration is not disrupted, and those stipulating that public officials may not have another occupation, either paid or unpaid, than the assumed public office. The objections however remained unheard by the parliamentary majority.