Moldovan parliament, civil society identify new cooperation platforms

Chisinau, 5 July /MOLDPRES/ - The parliament backs strengthening the cooperation with the civil society to attract sectoral expertise in the legislative process and enhance the decision-taking transparency. Discussions on the matter took place today at a yearly conference titled, Cooperation between Parliament and Civil Society, seventh issue, the parliament’s communication and public relations department has reported.

Attending the event were Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu, Prime Minister Pavel Filip, MPs, ministers, civil society’s and development partners’ representatives, international experts.  

The debates were focused on civil society’s involvement in working out and implementation of public policies, amendment and completion of legislation, due to provide long-term support and public resources for a sustainable civil society, enhancing the decision-taking transparency and citizens’ more active involvement in taking decisions, identifying common platforms of dialogue and cooperation, etc.  

The speaker welcomed the civil society’s involvement in improving the legislation. He gave the example of amending the law on ensuring equality of chances, which provides for shares of women’s participation in public life, protection against sexist advertising, providing a 14-day paternity leave. At the same time, Andrian Candu specified that, at a request by the civil society, he had postponed the consideration of the draft law on integrity. According to the speaker, in 2015-2016, the civil society submitted to parliament 112 recommendations on 86 drafts.       

Andrian Candu highlighted the support provided by development partners to strengthen the parliament-civil society cooperation. It is about, in particular, of the creation of four territorial information offices of the parliament, organization of regional forums, Dialogue with Citizens, elaboration of a webpage of the parliament. The speaker also said the new programme on cooperation between parliament and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided for a string of activities, such as working out an action plan for parliamentary openness, elaboration of electronic procedures, through which information and opinions of the society on parliament draft laws should be collected. Also, Andrian Candu noted that a new strategy of communication of the parliament was under elaboration, that will help improve the parliament-citizens communication.

For his part, Prime Minister Pavel Filip urged those present to a close cooperation between the authorities and civil society, in order to more actively involve the associative sector in the decision-taking process, including in reforming the state’s institutions. “Pressures by the civil society mobilize the government, make it work more and close to people’s expectations. The cooperation between the civil society and public institutions is beneficial, as it means eventually better public policies and reforms for our country. Help us reach the best formula of cooperation, so as  both the government and the civil society achieve their goal: a better government at any level, in people’s interest,” the PM said at the conference.

The civil society’s representatives asked for more transparency in the work of public institutions, decision-making process, wider access to public information, as well as associative sector’s involvement in developing and monitoring public policies in different sectors.  

The annual conference, Cooperation between Parliament and Civil Society, was held on 4-5 July.

(Editor A. Raileanu)