Minister of Justice Vladimir Cebotari rejects the criticism of those who say that the religious organizations and foundations affiliated to politicians will be the main beneficiaries of the 2% Law as these have resources, including administrative, and can convince the people to transfer the 2% of their income tax. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, the functionary also denied the accusations about the results of the contest staged by the Ministry of Justice to choose two representatives of civil society on the Integrity Council, IPN reports.
“All the organizations that meet the conditions laid down in the regulations and the law were included in the list. Only those who do not possess the certificate of public utility, do not ensure the so necessary discipline in report presentation or didn’t present the whole package of documents by the deadline weren’t included. There is no subjective assessment criterion,” stated the minister.
As to the statements that the religious organizations and several foundations affiliated to politicians will be the main beneficiaries of the law, Vladimir Cebotari said the choice is made not by the political class or the state, but by each private individual apart. If they consider that a public association is closer to their heart, they can direct their money to this, while the state will not become involved.
As regards the selection of members of the Integrity Council, the minister said criticism started to be leveled at the last stage, when the contest was held. “Not the contest itself was criticized. If you analyze all the made statements, you will see that there was no objection to the way in which the contest was held.[…] There are always losers and winners in a contest. In a democratic state, the people learn to lose and to accept the results,” he stated.
Vladimir Cebotari said the Integrity Council had the first meeting and set the first objectives. First of all, it is to launch a contest and choose the president and vice president of the National Integrity Authority, to work out the regulations that will govern its activity and to plan the budget. It will also announce contests to choose persons who will work as integrity inspectors and will launch an electronic platform for submitting and processing property and interest statements.
