On February 11, the Parliamentary Working Group on ensuring the functionality of ATU Gagauzia was convened at the first meeting of the Spring session of the 2020 Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.
The Speaker, Zinaida Greceanii welcomed the convening of the Working Group, appreciating its previous activity and thanking the experts for their support. The Speaker urged the members of the Group to adopt a constructive approach to future dialogue, to ensure its efficient functioning and suggested the opportunity to involve specialists from the permanent committees of Parliament and relevant governmental institutions to create a more productive dialogue process. The members of the Group agreed to build on its activity to date, and were presented with the Group’s previous reports, updated regulations, and draft laws under examination. They also confirmed that they will agree on the agenda, the plan of formal and informal meetings, the objectives, and the directions of work for the future.
During the meeting, Vice-President of the Moldovan Parliament, Vlad Batrincea, was appointed as co-chair of the Group from the Parliament side, joined by Mr. Gheorghe Leiciu as the co-chair from the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia .
The working group for ensuring the functionality of ATU Gagauzia and the legislative provisions of the Republic of Moldova in relation to UTA Gagauzia, composed of Members of Parliament and of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, was created in November 2015, at the initiative of the President of Parliament.
The scope of the Working Group is to improve the functioning of the Gagauz autonomy within the constitutional framework of the Republic of Moldova, based on the Law on the special status of Gagauzia in 1994.
Since the launch of the working group, CMI has facilitated over 21 meetings, many of which were held in Comrat. Together, the group has adopted over 40 joint decisions. One of the most important achievements is the creation of the territorial office of the Regional Development Agency of the ATU Gagauzia, through which the region received financial support for carrying out important development projects.
The dialogue between the Members of Parliament and the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia is facilitated by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI).
CMI is a non-profit organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate, former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari in 2000. The organization’s efforts are aimed at preventing and resolving conflicts and maintaining a lasting peace with regional programs in Eastern European countries, the Middle East, and Africa. In Moldova, CMI works with MPs from Chisinau and representatives of the People’s Assembly from Comrat to increase confidence through regular informal meetings, discussions, workshops and study visits, to increase their capacity to get involved in problem-solving and enable a lasting dialogue.
