“Supporting Inclusive Dialogue and Strengthening Capacities for a Better Functioning Gagauz Autonomy in Moldova” is a three-year project bringing together legislators, experts and interested parties from Chisinau, Comrat and across Moldova to find joint solutions to common issues related to the Gagauzia autonomy. The project will run from 2019-2021, implemented by CMI and funded by Sweden.
This work builds on the results of three years of dialogue between legislators from the Moldovan Parliament and the Gagauz People’s Assembly within the Gagauzia Working Group (GWG), a parliamentary dialogue platform facilitated by a previous CMI project.
Creating Joint Solutions to Common Problems
The project works to create a positive political environment for dialogue between Chisinau and Comrat, and to enhance the capacities of all parties to address institutional disputes and legislative contradictions between the centre and the autonomy.
To support this process, the project will increase knowledge and understanding of autonomy issues in Chisinau and Comrat, increase institutional capacities for dialogue about them, and increase trust between all interested parties to support the development of joint solutions.
With this foundation, the project will work with key stakeholders in both Chisinau and Comrat to:
- Develop a vision for policies in specific areas within the Gagauzia Autonomy (culture, education and tourism), and address the laws governing these policies in line with the 1994 Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia,
- Increase cooperation and coordination between Chisinau and Comrat to develop joint solutions to shared problems, and establish potential methods and institutional mechanisms to clarify laws and resolve disputes.
Implementing an Inclusive Process
The project has partnered with Moldovan organisation CONTACT Centre to deliver inclusive participatory processes with civil society, academia, subject matter experts, and interested parties in Chisinau and Comrat. This engagement focuses on the priorities of the Gagauzia autonomy in the areas of education, culture and tourism, and will inform the work of the project Task Force, ensuring that all perspectives contribute to the agenda, substance and objectives of the parliamentary dialogue process and policy development activities.
Restarting the Parliamentary Dialogue Process
The project will restart the activities of the Gagauzia Working Group (GWG), continuing the parliamentary dialogue between Chisinau and Comrat that began in 2015. The GWG is the only institutional political dialogue platform dedicated to the effective functioning of the Gagauz autonomy in the Republic of Moldova, and is made up of representatives from all parties of the Moldovan Parliament and all interest groups and stakeholders in the People’s Assembly. The Group is intended to create an informal and formal dialogue process to enable the development of joint solutions to common problems, based on the interests of its members and input from experts and interested parties.
Working with the Gagauzia Autonomy and Government in Chisinau to Build Capacities and Develop Solutions
The project will work with key stakeholders and institutions in Chisinau and Comrat to broaden their dialogue capacities and improve their technical knowledge about how autonomies function, with support and input from European autonomy experts Eurac Research. Improved understanding of these issues at the executive level has the potential to stimulate substantive discussions, support the joint search for solutions, and develop broader, sustainable support for the solutions that are found. The project will also convene a number of dedicated thematic groups, made up of international and Moldovan experts, to inform the discussions of the GWG. The Working Group will work closely with each thematic group to determine the agenda of issues to be worked on, and the research results will be returned to the GWG for discussion and endorsement.
Expected Project Outcomes
