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Compliance with the legislative procedure and decision-making transparency, the Parliament’s communication with citizens and stakeholders, and the Parliament’s exercise of parliamentary control are some of the issues addressed today, December 18, at the public discussion on “The activity of the Parliament of 11^th legislature through the prism of civic monitoring”, organized by Promo-LEX Association.

The event was attended by the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Mihail Popsoi, the EU Delegation Ambassador Jānis Mažeiks, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy Laura Hruby, MPs of the parliamentary majority and opposition, representatives of various public authorities, civil society experts, and foreign partners.

In his welcome speech, Promo-LEX Executive Director Ion Manole stressed that the monitoring of the Parliament’s activity, which Promo-LEX has been carrying out since 2016, is necessary and beneficial, first of all, for society, but also for the parliamentary institution, as it contributes to improving the quality and transparency of decision-making processes and to holding MPs accountable. “This monitoring effort helps us understand what are the problems, what might be certain obstacles, and becomes even more relevant in the context of the opening of EU accession negotiations for the Republic of Moldova. We understand that we need qualitative laws, very clear and transparent procedures. This is only possible when the Parliament is transparent and open.”

Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, PAS MP Mihail Popsoi, said the effort to monitor the Parliament’s activity is appreciated and used to improve the democratic processes in Moldova. “We recognize that even now there are questions related to the work of the Parliament, the situation is not perfect, but I want to say that the Parliament of Moldova has never been more transparent than today. Yes, it can be better, we recognize this and are always grateful for the recommendations you give us. We are fully open to improve things even further, especially in the new conditions, of opening accession negotiations, in which cooperation with civil society will have a central role.”

The EU Delegation Ambassador Jānis Mažeiks said that the monitoring of the Parliament’s activity is very important, as the parliamentary institution plays a specific role in the process of Moldova’s accession to the EU and has demonstrated, in recent years, its commitment to this process, adopting several important laws. “I want to thank the Promo-LEX Association for monitoring the legislative process, because it is an important reference point in our activity in terms of compliance with rules and procedures. It is very important to see not just what has been done, but how it has been done. We welcome positive progress in establishing a platform for collaboration with civil society in the Parliament, but it is important that certain structures be set up and strengthened to ensure broad consultation in the legislative process. Collaboration between the Parliament and civil society is very important. Equally important is the relationship within the Parliament, between the majority and the opposition. There must be collaboration in the interests of citizens, and we are ready to support interparliamentary dialogue, develop consensus where possible.”

The Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy Laura Hruby stressed the need and benefits of collaboration between state institutions and civil society for a democratic, prosperous, and secure future for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. Transparent governance, cooperation between citizens and decision-makers, and independent, developing media are essential for this mission. “The monitoring efforts of Promo-LEX strengthen the link between the legislative process and the citizens of Moldova. Effective monitoring and accountability of the Parliament are essential as Moldova strives to ensure a European standard of living for its citizens. I am pleased that Promo-LEX’s new monitoring report shows progress in the process of public consultation of draft laws and we need to see how we can strengthen this progress further and what remains to be done. This monitoring report confirms once again that democracy develops through the involvement of citizens.”

During the event, Promo-LEX experts presented the main findings and recommendations from the annual report on monitoring the activity of the Parliament of 11^th legislature for the period from August 2022 to July 2023. The report analyzes the activity of the parliamentary institution in terms of several aspects: compliance with the legislative procedure and decision-making transparency during the initiation, consultation, debate, and voting on draft legislation; the organization and conduct of plenary sittings; the activism of MPs in the legislative process; the work of parliamentary standing committees; the exercise of parliamentary control by the Parliament; the Parliament’s communication with citizens and stakeholders; budgetary and administrative management.

One of the authors of the report, Promo-LEX legal analyst Mihaela Duca, summarized the main findings and compared them with those of the previous monitoring period. “There has been a slight increase in the drafts publicly consulted by the Parliament, some of which were consulted in several rounds. However, the small number of draft laws consulted by the Parliament, together with the short time allotted for consultations and the defective publication of notices about them significantly impair decision-making transparency. Likewise, we have seen a positive trend in the publication of documents related to draft laws before they are voted on, but further efforts in this regard are still needed. The late publication of the agenda and its frequent completion at the beginning of the plenary sitting is a problem that has worsened compared to the previous monitoring period. Also, the high number of changes to the agenda has affected the predictability and transparency of the legislative process.”

The authors of the report prepared a total of 62 recommendations to the Parliament in the five chapters monitored. Most of the recommendations, 17, were formulated for the chapter of Compliance with Legislative Procedure. The Parliament is recommended, inter alia, to make a comprehensive and systemic revision of its Regulation or to adopt a new regulation that would ensure the functioning of the Parliament in a transparent and predictable manner; to standardize the procedures for announcing, organizing, and conducting public consultations, in particular by establishing precise criteria for their mandatory organization; to establish a clear and transparent mechanism that would ensure effective examination in all cases of objections and recommendations of the General Legal Directorate of the Parliament Secretariat, the Government, the anti-corruption expertise, and other entities that provided opinions or expertise; to publish the agenda of Parliament sittings on the official website of the institution at the beginning of the working week, as required by law.

The annual report on monitoring the activity of the Parliament of 11^th legislature between August 2022 and July 2023 can be accessed here.

The monitoring report was prepared by Promo-LEX Association as part of the “Democracy, Transparency, and Accountability” Program, implemented with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID Moldova). The aim of monitoring is to increase the transparency of the institution, to help improve legislative procedures, and to strengthen the interaction between MPs and citizens.