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The number of government officials working at various control agencies has increased by 3.5 thousand people from 51.2 thousand in 2011 to 54.8 thousand today. That is while the country’s population has decreased by 343 thousand inhabitants, from 2.93 million in 2011 to 2.6 million in 2021, as being mentioned in an analysis published by the economic expert Veaceslav Ionita.

10 years ago, there was an average of 17.6 bureaucrats per one thousand inhabitants. This figure has increased by over 20%, meaning that today we already have 21.4 bureaucrats per one thousand inhabitants. According to the expert, the number of government bureaucrats in charge of public services is unbalanced when compared to the number of people who would request such public services. “If we keep the rate from 2011, then we would have to reduce the number of bureaucrats by 10 thousand people.”

Nowadays, the costs for a single employee of the bureaucratic system reach 200 thousand lei, including the payments related to salary, bonuses, social expenses, as well as office space and other labor costs. “The maintenance costs of this additional and unnecessary number of bureaucrats amount to at least 2 billion lei annually,” the expert claimed.

The number of government control agencies was reduced from 68 to 19, as being displayed on the official page of the national public services portal. “The number of control institutions were reduced, but not the number of bureaucrats in charge of controls. In the last 4 years alone, the number of permissive acts in Moldova has decreased 3 times. Thousands of people were dealing with unnecessary and harmful activity by offering permits for certain types of activity. Their activity proved to be useless and, consequently, was ended. But the bureaucrats stayed in offices, even though their previous positions were removed. Obviously, all the thousands of people, who have lost the right to control or allow something, started to look for new solutions to ‘milk’ the money  from businesses.”

The expert says that the damage caused by the unnecessary activity of such officials amounts to tens of billions lei each year in the form of lack of investment in Moldova, people emigration, shutting down companies due to corruption, exaggerated prices due to monopolies protected by bureaucrats and other costs borne by the society.

It is still not clear why Moldova would need a National Agency for the Regulation of Nuclear and Radiological Activities, given that there are no nuclear power plants on the territory of the country and given that there is already a National Agency for Energy Regulation. Also, there are 3 agencies in charge of land recording and cadastral maps creation in the Republic of Moldova. The economic expert believes that some control agencies could be merged in a single market regulation agency and that would be a way to optimize public expenditures.

Photo: unknown

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The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR) and the National Office for Vine and Wine (NOVW) of the Republic of Moldova signed, last week, a memorandum of cooperation on organizing joint promotional activities in the markets of common interest, as the CCIR announced.

China, Japan or the USA are just some of the markets targeted by the Romanian and Moldovan institutions. The memorandum also involves advertising activities for wines from common indigenous varieties, promoting the oeno-tourist region, developing a tourist route in the two states, exchange of experience, study visits, and mutual support in identifying new export opportunities. “We are very confident that this collaboration between our organizations will lead to sustainable economic growth and a higher degree of well-being among Moldovans and Romanians,” claimed Deputy Secretary-General of CCIR, Bogdan Visan.

On the other hand, Director of the NOVW, Cristina Frolov, declared that no open competition with Romania is aimed at the governmental level of the Republic of Moldova. “This request for collaboration is a consequence of the partnership principle. Romania imports 10-12% of the wine it consumes, and we want to take more from this import quota. Every year, the Romanian market grows by approximately 2.8%, as it happened in 2020, and we are interested in taking a maximum share of this percentage of imported wines without entering into direct competition with the Romanian producer,” the Moldovan official said. She also mentioned that Moldova aims at increasing the market share of wine production by at least 50% compared to 2020, and the number of producers present on the Romanian market – by at least 40%.

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According to the data of the Romanian National Trade Register Office, the total value of Romania-Moldova trade was 1.7 billion euros at the end of last year and over 805 million euros at the end of May 2021. In July 2021, there were 6 522 companies from the Republic of Moldova in Romania, with a total capital value of 45.9 million euros.

The data of Moldova’s National Office of Vine and Wine showed that, in the first 7 months of 2021, the total quantity of bottled wine was about 27 million litres (registering an increase of 10% as compared to the same period last year), with a value of more than one billion lei, which is 32% more than the same period last year. Moldovan wines were awarded 956 medals at 32 international competitions in 2020.

Photo: ccir.ro

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The newly elected government decided to take action regarding one of its main priorities, which was previously announced – the judicial reform. Namely, an amendment to the existing Law on the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) was voted through the first reading on August 13. The bill provides for introduction of a mechanism for evaluating the performance of the Prosecutor General, as well as his dismissal following a proposal submitted by the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP) in case he fails in his duties.

The performance of the Prosecutor General would be evaluated once per year by a 5 members commission formed by the SCP. One member would be proposed by the President of the Republic of Moldova, the second by the Ministry of Justice, the third by the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM), the forth by the Superior Council of Prosecutors and the last one by the Prosecutor General (PG). In case at least 3 members of the SCP, the Performance Evaluation Commission or the President of the Republic of Moldova take the initiative, disciplinary proceedings may be brought against the Prosecutor General. If a criminal investigation is initiated, an interim PG is appointed by the SCP.

The authors of the bill (MPs of the Party of Action and Solidarity) claimed that the proposed changes would not affect the independence and autonomy of the OPG and that of the Prosecutor General, as the Superior Council of Prosecutors has the decisive role in making the decision. “The introduction of regulations on the evaluation of the Prosecutor General’s performance, as well as regulations on the application of disciplinary liability to the Prosecutor General comes to ensure accountability of the institution, and establishes a balance of power and control between the Prosecutor General and the Superior Council of Prosecutors,” the authors of the bill said.

During the same plenary session, MPs supported through the first reading the amendment to the normative acts providing for the election and appointment of members in the Superior Council of Magistracy and the Superior Council of Prosecutors. The candidates of both councils are required to hold office for at least 3 years and not to be penalised in the last 3 years. Six members of the SCM would be elected by the General Assembly of Judges, next to three ex officio members and three law professors appointed by Parliament.

At the same time, the proposed amendments seek to reduce the number of the SCP members from 15 to 12, by excluding the Prosecutor General, the Chief Prosecutor of the ATU (Autonomous Territorial Unit) Gagauzia Prosecutor’s Office and the President of the Lawyers Union.

The Parliamentary Committee in charge of Legal Affairs, Appointments and Immunities invited all interested parties to public consultations, on 18 August, regarding the previously mentioned bills, after civil society organizations have made a public request to organize “genuine and inclusive public consultations, in strict compliance with the legislation on transparency in decision-making.”

A smart move or a hasty reform?

The modifications to the Law on the Office of the Prosecutor General approved in Parliament were criticised by some experts, despite the fact that Sergiu Litvinenco, the main promoter and the one who initiated the bill, argued that “the changes contain sufficient guarantees to ensure correct procedures both in the case of performance evaluation and in the case of disciplinary procedure.”

The president of the Center for Legal Resources of Moldova, Vladislav Gribincea, declared that amending the Law on the Office of the Prosecutor General every time the government does not like the prosecutor general “creates dangerous circumstances and puts the Prosecutor General at the mercy of politicians.”

” No matter how well-intentioned politicians may be, a politically dependent prosecutor could be more dangerous than one with modest performance.”

The expert also said  that the modifications make no sense, as long as the dismissal of the Prosecutor General can be initiated only by the Superior Council of Prosecutors – a representative and self-administered body of prosecutors. “The SCP has not made proposals for dismissal, not even for disciplinary sanctions on much more critical situations committed by prosecutors. I do not see how this mechanism will lead to the de facto dismissal of Mr. Stoianoglo. I rather see this as a legislative pirouette, in order to further intensify the pressure on the General Prosecutor, causing him to leave.”

Former President of the Constitutional Court, Alexandru Tanase, stated that “although it contains high standards in the organization of the Office of the Prosecutor General, changing the rules of the game without changing people, does not generate any results.”

“The Venice Commission needs to be consulted, and the EU needs to make sure that the government does not make mistakes with this hasty reform,” claimed the expert Dionis Cenusa.

The OPG response was transcendent, still superficial: “The level of understanding by the current government of the principles of the rule of law is unexpectedly weak and, at the moment, we do not see the point of commenting on anything. The OPG response to any attack on its institutional and procedural independence will be proportionate to the seriousness of such attacks.” Regarding that, Vladislav Gribincea commented that there could not have been “a more inappropriate reaction of the OPG. The only tool of the institution is to file criminal cases against politicians. I think that is the last thing the Office of the Prosecutor General needs now.”

According to WatchDog expert Valeriu Pasa, the new law proposes to remove the SCP from the control of prosecutor, but that does not mean handing it over to politicians. “Civil society, academic environment, the ombudsman will participate in the process. Still, the largest number of members (5 out of 12) will be prosecutors. No one would have full control, as it is now. That would mean a much more balanced system,” he explained.

“Consolidating the system formed and led by the puppets of Plahotniuc and Platon is stupid. For the Party of Action and Solidarity that would be a political suicide. Is there a risk of political subordination of decisions taken by prosecutors and judges? Of course! And that must be the red line. The only safeguard against these abuses is the self-control of the new government and the strict monitoring of civil society and external partners, but  also of the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition. If Plahotniuc’s control over judiciary gets replaced by the PAS’s control – everything has been in vain.”

The expert believes that the current Prosecutor General, Alexandru Stoianoglo, must resign because he has been elected through a vicious procedure intentionally organised by socialists. Another important reason is his inactivity concerning important investigations, the lack of progress when it comes to sanctioning or holding people accountable for major abuses, as it is the case of Veaceslav Platon or Ilan Shor, who left the country without any impediments. This was one of the arguments of the current government as well, in addition to the intention to bring the law into line with the Constitution in order to establish a mechanism for evaluating the activity of the Prosecutor General.

What changes will the current amendments undergo through the second reading, and whether the PG resigns or is dismissed – those are the next big questions.

Photo: parlament.md