At the beginning of the meeting, the prime minister warned about the situation emerged because of bad weather conditions. He noted that about 90 per cent of the areas sown with agricultural crops are hit by drought in Moldova. Vlad Filat specified that, on average, the hydro-thermal coefficient stood at 0.3-0.4 in Moldova in June and early July 2012, which means a severe and very severe drought.
In this context, the prime minister informed about the holding of a meeting of the Commission for Emergencies on 5 July, during which each competent institution will present a report and solutions to overcome this situation.
The prime minister said this situation proves that the management of waters must be established as priority in Moldova. Vlad Filat referred to the need to work out a state-level strategy that would provide for an efficient management of waters beginning with the source, transport, distribution, treatment, etc. At the same time, the government is to make an analysis in terms of subsidization, and the way the insurance companies that subsidize risks in agriculture carry out their activity.
At the today's meeting, the government approved a list of legislative and normative acts the implementation of which will be monitored by the central competent public administration bodies in the second half of 2012. Under the concerned decision, on the respective period, 22 legislative and normative acts will be subject to monitoring through the light of the criteria stipulated in the item 5 of a methodology on monitoring the process of enforcement of the legislation, approved under the government decision No 1181 from 22 December 2010. Reports on the issue are to be unveiled till 1 January 2013. At the same time, the central bodies in charge of the public administration are to make proposals of amendments to the normative framework monitored in 2011, if necessary.
Also, the cabinet approved a draft law on the amendment of the article 9 of the law No 1234 from 22 September 2000 on the procedure of Moldovan president's election. The draft is focused on the enforcement of a Constitutional Court (CC) decision No 7 from 24 May 2012 via the exclusion of a phrase from the article 9, paragraph 7 of the above-mentioned law, which is unconstitutional, according to the CC, as it runs counter the article 1, paragraph 3, article 23 and article 78 of the Constitution and overstep the constitutional limits on the Moldovan president's election procedure.
Another draft law on the amendment and abrogation of legislative acts, approved at the today's meeting, deals with the enforcement of a decision by the Constitutional Court. The draft is focused on the CC decision No 5 from 10 April 2012, under which the norms set forth in the article 4, paragraph 2, letter a) of the law No 289 from 22 July 2004 on allowances for temporary incapacity to work and other social insurances services were declared unconstitutional. According to the concerned amendments, the government returns to a norm stipulating that the employer will be obliged to pay the first, second and third calendar day of the employee's incapacity to work, caused by common diseases or non-labour accidents. The payments for the next days will be met from the state social insurances budget.
In the context, the prime minister warned about problems in the system of issuing certificates of temporary incapacity to work in Moldova, and asked the competent ministry for stricter regulations in this area. Filat also demanded that conclusive proposals be elaborated to this end. He specified that, in 2010 alone, the overall spending to pay allowances for sick leaves amounted to 600 million lei, with a number of 908 days of incapacity to work per 100 employees.
The government extended the deadline for the organization of the selection of candidates for the position of judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and replacing the date of 12 by 17 July 2012. The commission of selecting candidates is made up of 15 members, and has a representative composition: MPs, representatives of the government, justice system, academic and non-governmental sectors. The Moldovan cabinet should submit a list of candidates for the office of ECHR judge to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe until 27 July 2012.
Also today, the government approved a national plan on the prevention and combating of the trafficking of people for 2012-2013, and made amendments to a cabinet decision on the work of the national committee on the combating of the trafficking of people. Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and European Integration Minister Iurie Leanca said that the US Department of State published a Global Report on the Trafficking in Humans, which shows a remarkable progress of Moldova in this field. Thus, the number of victims of the trafficking of people dropped twice, and the number of persons assisted to be protected from this scourge increased 7-fold. Nonetheless, international experts also have a string of recommendations for Moldova, that, in general, refer to the improvement of the judicial system and protection of witnesses in the concerned sector, as well as other suggestions, which, as a matter of fact, are included in the new national plan on the prevention and combating of the trafficking of people for 2012-2013. It is worth mentioning that this is the fifth Moldova's plan worked out in the concerned sector, which is meant to structure the activities planned at the national level, in order to enforce the provisions of the law on the prevention and combating of the trafficking of people and other international conventions ratified by Moldova, as well as to fulfill the commitments assumed in the European integration process.
The government ruled to start talks on a draft protocol on the dismantling of the inter-governmental council crude oil and gas. The decision is dictated by the fact that this council, set up in 1993, has considerably reduced the spectrum of the examined issues over the last years, and its work was described as inopportune. As a result, the participants in a meeting of the commission for economic problems under the Economic Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) from 30 March 2012 decided to liquidate the inter-governmental council for crude oil and gas.
The government completed with another enterprise a list of organizations and enterprises of the blind people's societies, societies of deaf people and invalids' societies, which are exempted from the value-added tax at the import of raw materials, articles of completion and accessories needed for their own production process. The finance minister said the concerned enterprise manufactures ready-made clothes from textiles, and respectively, the raw material for the work of this enterprise will be exempted from the tax on import.
The cabinet members completed regulations on the audit activity in Moldova, including the ones regarding the council of supervising this sector at the Finance Ministry, by the amendment and completion of the government decision No 1450 from 24 December 2007.
The cabinet okayed a decision on the creation of e-Transformation sub-divisions in all the central public administration institutions, in order to achieve the goals set in a strategic programme on technological modernization of the government (e-Transformation). This decision sees that the ministries and other central public authorities are to set up a subdivision at the central apparatus each, that is meant to ensure a synchronization of the sector-related policies and strategies with the government's agenda of technological modernization, in order to optimize the work and enhance the operational performance of the central public authorities, as well as to improve the quality of the public services provided to the citizens.
Under a decision on exemption from the payment of services for birth, marriage or death certificates, the government decided that the people belonging to the Roma ethnic minority be exempted from the present taxes for the services provided y the Registrar's Office for a three-month period. This draft is aimed at settling the problems of supplying the Roma representatives with IDs. The move fits into a string of measures stipulated in an action plan on backing the residents of the Roma ethnic minority for 2011-2015.
Another government decision, approved at the today's meeting, is focused on the annulment of the perennial plantations. Thus, the cabinet accepted proposals by the Cantemir, Cimislia, Falesti, Orhei, Soroca, Soldanesti and Taraclia district councils on the annulment of 895.8 hectares of low-productivity orchards, demanded by economic agents from 26 settlements.
Also today, the government approved a state order on the admission to post-graduate education at the Academy of Public Administration under the Moldovan President for the 2012-2013 academic year. Thirty places are envisaged for two-year traditional education and 120 for distance education with a duration of 2.5 years. The contest will be organized at 8 specializations on 9 July - 5 August 2012.
The cabinet members approved 4 draft laws on the ratification of financing accords between Moldova and international financial institutions, including: a contract on financing an agreement on loan between Moldova and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in order to implement a project on restoration of electric power transportation networks in Moldova; a framework agreement on loan between Moldova and the Council of Europe Development Bank to carry out a project on construction of dwellings for less well-off categories of residents, signed on 16 June 2012, as well as a credit export agreement between Moldova and the UniCredit Bank Austria AG on the financing of a project on the improvement of medical services at the Republican Clinical Hospital from Moldova, signed on 2 July 2012. Also, the government ruled to start negotiations on an agreement of grant between Moldova and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the financing of the reform of strategic planning of the health information management in Moldova.
Also today, the ministers heard a report in the management and de-nationalization of the public administration in 2011, presented by Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Valeriu Lazar. The official said this is the second report of this kind, with the first one unveiled in July 2011. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the situation in the field of management and de-nationalization of the public property on the concerned period, as well as recommendations on the optimization of the respective activity for the next period. The conclusions made on the analysis show serious deficiencies in terms of observance of the legislation by state enterprises and stock companies with majority state capital, and inefficient management of the public property. In this context, the prime minister asked to elaborate necessary proposals to ensure an efficient work of the enterprises, enhance managers' responsibility, as well as ensure transparency of the activity, including in terms of acquisitions.
At the end of the meeting, the government approved amendments to the decision No 945 from 20 August 2007 on a list of state-run assets subject to privatization.
