Working group on ensuring functionality of Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia holds first meeting

Chisinau, 11 February /MOLDPRES/ - The working group for ensuring the functionality of the Autonomous Territorial Unit (UTA) of Gagauzia today held its first meeting within the 2020 spring session of Moldova’s parliament. Attending the event were Parliament Speaker Zinaida Greceanii, members delegated of parliamentary factions, representatives of the people’s assembly (local parliament) of Gagauzia, representatives of Sweden’s Embassy in Moldova and of the international organization Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), the parliament’s communication and public relations department has reported.   

Zinaida Greceanii welcomed the meeting of the working group; she appreciated its work and thanked the experts for the support provided. The speaker urged the members to adopt a constructive approach for an efficient work in the long run too. The parliament speaker suggested the opportunity to attract specialists from the parliament’s standing commissions, competent governmental institutions, for a more productive activity.    

The working group’s members agreed to sum up the activity carried out by the group so far; decision-makers are to unveil reports, updated regulation, draft laws under considered to the group’s members. Also, the MPs will agree on the agenda, plan of formal and informal meetings, goals and directions of work.  

At the meeting, Deputy Parliament Speaker Vlad Batrincea was nominated co-head of the group on behalf of the parliament and Gheorghe Leiciu was nominated co-head on behalf of the Gagauz people’s assembly.     

The working group for ensuring the functionality of UTA Gagauzia and Moldova’s  legislative provisions in relation with the Gagauz autonomy, made up of lawmakers of the Moldovan parliament and of Gagauzia’s people’s assembly, was created in November 2015, at an initiative by the parliament speaker. The goal of the group’s work is to improve the functioning of the Gagauz autonomy in the constitutional framework of Moldova, having at the basis the law on the special status of Gagauzia from 1994.    

The dialogue between MPs of the parliament and the Gagauz people’s assembly is facilitated by the Crisis Management Initiative. CMI is a non-profit organization, founded by a laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, former president of Finland Martti Ahtisaari in 2000. The organization’s efforts are aimed at preventing and settling conflicts and maintaining a lasting peace, with regional programmes in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. In Moldova, CMI works with lawmakers from Chisinau and representatives of the people’s assembly from Comrat, in order to enhance the trust through regular informal meetings, discussions, workshops and study visits, so as to increase their capacity to get involved in the process of settlement of problems and a lasting dialogue.