Since the last monitoring report in 2005, Moldova has advanced significantly on the path of democratic reforms and has passed an impressive number of laws dealing with the country’s commitments to the Council of Europe, says the draft report titled Honouring of obligations and commitments by Moldova, to be debated by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Tuesday, October 2. According to the report, it is now time the Moldovan authorities take all the necessary steps to make the new legal framework fully operational. Further improvements should also be made to the legislation on the judiciary, the general prosecutor’s office, political parties and local self-government. Referring to the recent local elections, the Monitoring Committee for Moldova says they were generally well administered but substantial improvements need to be made to electoral law and practice in preparation for the next parliamentary elections in 2009. The negotiations over the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict within the "5+2" set-up have stalled. No effort should be spared to resume the search for a solution. The settlement must be based on the principle of full respect for Moldova’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Against this background, the Assembly should invite the Moldovan authorities to take a number of concrete measures in order to move closer to honouring all the country’s commitments, so that the closing of the monitoring procedure may be envisaged in the foreseeable future, the report adds. The report was prepared by the CoE co-rapporteurs for Moldova Josette Durrieu and Egidijus Vareikis.