The European Union and Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance 2019-2021 held its second Steering Committee meeting for the Republic of Moldova on 14 December 2020 morning. The meeting aimed to present the state of implementation and the results of the Programme and discuss plans for 2021.
The participants also had the opportunity to assess the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the PGG implementation and to discuss the mitigation measures undertaken by the project teams to address the most urgent needs of the Moldovan authorities with regard to the domestic reforms in the field of judiciary, combating corruption and discrimination.
The programme is implementing two projects in the Republic of Moldova. The first one, with a budget of 600,000 euros, is assisting the Moldovan authorities in strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system. Its aim is to facilitate a system for monitoring the progress of judicial reforms and to allow the adoption of justice sector policies based on evidence. Other objectives are improving the collection, reporting and analysis of data on the efficiency and quality of the courts and the enforcement system, and consolidating the mechanisms for judicial transparency and accountability.
In addition, this project aims to improve the system of enforcement of court decisions in civil and administrative cases, as well as to improve the professional capacities of bailiffs and the tools at their disposal. The implementation of the project has been based on the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice's (CEPEJ) methodology and tools for evaluating the day-to-day functioning of judicial systems and the quality and efficiency of the public service of justice.
The second project, with a budget of 655,000 euros, aims to strengthen the Equality Council's practice, to improve the courses provided by the Lawyers Training Centre, and to enhance the capacity of judges and prosecutors to deliver high quality justice – in particular in discrimination cases – by applying European standards. It has been implemented via training courses, round tables, conferences and other capacity-building activities.
The EU provides 80% of the funding of the two projects, whilst the Council of Europe provides 20% and is in charge of their implementation.
In addition to these two country-specific projects, the Republic of Moldova is also taking part in four regional projects aimed at fighting against economic crimes, strengthening the profession of lawyers, combating discrimination and facilitating access of women to justice with a total budget of 3.7 million euros.
Pilar Morales, Head of the Programming Department at the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes, Council of Europe and Magdalena Muller-Uri, Head of Operations Section at the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldovan Victor Lapusneanu, PGG National Coordinator, Head of Council of Europe and Human Right Unit, Multilateral Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova and William Massolin, Head of the Council Europe Office in the Republic of Moldova opened the meeting.
