Directing Committee for implementation of 2017-2020 Council of Europe's action plan for Moldova holds meeting

Chisinau, 2 October /MOLDPRES/ - Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Oleg Tulea has participated in a meeting of the Directing Committee for assessing the implementation of the Council of Europe’s action plan for Moldova for 2017-2020, held in format of videoconference, the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry’s press service has reported.  

At the meeting, representatives of the Council of Europe and national institutions exchanged opinions on the impact of the projects completed and those underway till the end of this year. The officials discussed the lessons learned from the implementation of the projects in these three years and exchanged opinions on the priorities due to stay at the basis of the future Moldova-Council of Europe action plan for 2021-2024. 

In his speech, Minister Oleg Tulea referred to the importance of the CoE’s assistance for the carrying out of the reforms’ agenda in Moldova, as well as to the concrete results of the implementation of assistance projects in the fields of rule of law state, human rights and democracy. The diplomat thanked the European Union, its donor member states, as well as other foreign partners for the financing of the majority of assistance projects. Tulea highlighted that, among the principal results, there were the projects: Corruption control through prevention and law enforcement, Children’s protection against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse in Moldova, Promotion of mass media and pluralism in Moldova, within which the new code of media and audiovisual services and the strategy of development of media audiovisual services for 2018-2025 was adopted; Improving electoral practices in Moldova; Prevention and combating of discrimination in Moldova.    

In the end, the Moldovan diplomacy head thanked the Council of Europe for the valuable assistance in the field of promotion of the democratic culture and good governance, offered to Moldova in those 25 years since the joining the organization. Oleg Tulea pointed out that the Council of Europe’s expertise was indispensable in the efforts of advancement of domestic reforms and the comprehensive action plan represented an extra proof in this respect.  

The Council of Europe’s action plan for Moldova for 2017-2020 was adopted by the Delegates of the CoE’s Committee of Ministers on 1 February 2017 and launched on 30 May 2017 in Chisinau in the presence of the former Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland. The document’s goal is to support the implementation of the priority reforms and includes projects on combating corruption and money laundering, enhancing the independence and efficiency of the judicial system, fight against ill treatments and impunity, measures of building confidence between the two banks of Dniester, children’s protection against the exploitation and sexual abuse, education for democracy, etc.