Pavel Filip chairs first cabinet meeting as premier

Chisinau, 21 January /MOLDPRES/ - Pavel Filip today chaired the first cabinet meeting in his capacity of prime minister, the government's communication and media relations department has reported. 

In the beginning of the meeting, the prime minister referred to the priorities of the governmental team, among which the improvement of the economic situation and ensuring the Moldovan citizens' security. 

"We start working in an atmosphere of protests and tension. We must receive the residents' messages attentively, analyse them and do our utmost to settle their problems. Here, I do not mean only the claims of those protesting in the street, certainly, it is not up to us to meet their wish to get into snap elections; yet, beyond this claim, there are many other discontents of the population, of those who did not take to streets. The long period of political crises and uncertainty created big debts, which we must cover quickly," the prime minister said.

Pavel Filip demanded that Interior Minister Alexandru Jizdan ensures permanent activity of the working group in charge of maintaining public order, in connection with the street protests in Chisinau. "Please, prove care for people's security and maximal resolution as regards the calling to account of those who commit violence and provocations and prevent them, not allow them taking place," the prime minister said. 

Filip encouraged the ministers to work with self-denial and get involved in settling the urgent problems of Moldova quickly. "Our No 1 priority is the citizens' security, and I mean here not protests or not only the protests, but also their financial and social safety. Therefore, today we have a single principal subject, the one dealing with the 2016 state budget; we must hasten its approval and its submitting to parliament, so that the country has budget, institutions may work properly and the people do not suffer at all," the prime minister added. 

At the meeting, some of the ministers unveiled reports on the present situation in terms of the economic, financial security and ensuring public order.   

The prime minister reiterated his appeal to calm, addressed both to the citizens and the law-enforcement bodies, to avoid violence and critical situations. 

(Editor M. Jantovan)