Civil society representatives discussed the implementation of the necessary reforms to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the Eastern Partnership countries

Representatives of civil society working in various fields gathered today in Chisinau on 9 August to discuss in a workshop on the process of implementing the reforms needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the Eastern Partnership countries.

The aim of the workshop was to discuss the reforms in the following areas: agriculture and rural development; economic development and sustainable growth; education, youth and culture; energetic efficiency; good governance, public services and anti-corruption.

According to Sorin Mereacre, President of the Eastern European Foundation in Moldova, although several reforms have been initiated in the National Action Plan for the implementation of the Moldova-EU Association Agreement between 2017-2019, some reforms are being implemented slowly and it is necessary to intensify the cooperation of the civil society with the authorities.

Anja Jahn Gunther, secretary of the Swedish Embassy in Moldova, stressed that this workshop is a good opportunity for civil society representatives to identify the necessary steps for Moldova to achieve its goals.

In this context, Oleg Budza, president of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova (CNSM), who participated in the workshop, mentioned a number of areas where reforms need to be implemented in order to improve the situation of the employees and solve more problems the society is facing with.

“Although there have been some positive developments in the functioning of justice, there are still shortcomings in the transparency of the decision-making process. Another important issue that mitigates society is the high level of corruption, where it is necessary to take more action to minimize the effects of this phenomenon,” said the trade union leader.

Oleg Budza mentioned that due to the implementation of some reforms, for example in 2016, the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova made increased disbursements to the state budget, comparing to the previous years by about 3 billion lei. “By implementing reforms related to fighting the informal economy, there will certainly be sources of wage increases,” he added.

“The Moldova-EU Association Agreement also provides a range of social guarantees. Some wage increases have been made, but their level is still insufficient for a large proportion of the population. We will insist on changing the concept of wages in the budget system so that identical pay scales exist. Because of the low wages, in some branches financed by the state budget there is an enormous fluctuation of cadres, which has an impact on the quality of the services provided to the population “, the president of CNSM also mentioned.

Referring to the reform of justice, Oleg Budza informed that the trade unions advocated the creation of specialized teams to solve labour conflicts, as following the amendments to the Labour Code, which were not supported by trade unions, could increase the number of addresses in courts by the employees.

At the same time, the president of the CNSM, mentioned the need to simplify business procedures for the business environment, to grant credits in better conditions than current ones, in order to contribute to the increase of investments and creation of new jobs.

According to the organizers, the East European Foundation in Moldova and the Embassy of Sweden in Moldova, the information presented by the participants will be compiled in a report, which will be later presented at the “Stockholm4EaP” conference, to be held in Sweden this autumn, by the representatives of civil society, identified from among the participants in the given workshop.

The purpose of the Stockholm4EaP event is to provide a qualitative platform to discuss the issues of the civil society on Sustainable Development Goals, the core values ​​and principles needed for reforms in the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine).

Department of mass media and international relations