The State Chancellery aims to improve existing mechanisms and align the legal framework on transparency in decision-making with international recommendations. At the same time, CSOs advocate for a more comprehensive legal approach that extends beyond transparency to ensure active public participation at all stages of policymaking. A newly formed working group, including representatives from both public institutions and civil society, will collaborate to develop these reforms, addressing key challenges such as limited resources, procedural complexity, and insufficient public awareness.
Initiative to amend the legal framework on transparency and public consultations
In January 2025, the State Chancellery initiated a process to amend the regulatory framework on decision-making transparency and public consultations. The amendments target the Law no. 239 on transparency in decision-making and the Government Decision no. 967 on the mechanism for public consultation with civil society in the decision-making process. The Law on transparency in decision-making dates back to 2008, and is viewed as outdated, with many calling for amendments to improve the participation framework.
As highlighted in the CSO Meter Moldova 2024 Country Report, participation in decision-making has been criticised for many years for not being fully inclusive and transparent, despite the openness demonstrated by the Government in recent years. There is a significant gap between the Legislation (5.4) and Practice score (4.5) for the area Right to participate in Decision-Making, meaning that there are shortcomings in the implementation of existing legislation. At the Government level there are issues related to the adherence to participation procedures, while the work of the Parliament is marked by an extremely low level of transparency (for example, only 16% of draft laws were consulted during the last parliamentary session), and similar transparency and participation shortcomings exist at the local public administration level.
The current initiative to amend the legislation is driven by the results of the Evaluation Study on the Practical Aspects of Ensuring Transparency in Decision-Making Processes by Central and Local Public Authorities published in December 2024. The study was part of the Open Government Action Plan 2023–2025 and the CSO Development Program 2024–2027, conducted with the support of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
The study aimed to identify systemic barriers and to propose practical solutions for improving public consultation mechanisms, transparency quality, and increasing civil society participation at all stages of the decision-making process. It provided a clearer overall picture of how transparency is ensured in decision-making and identified key challenges faced by public authorities in ensuring high-quality transparency, including: (i) Insufficient resources – lack of personnel, digital tools; (ii) Procedural complexity – excessive bureaucracy, complex rules, fragmented and uncoordinated reporting procedures across different levels of administration; (iii) Limited awareness – public officials are not fully familiar with legal transparency requirements, while citizens are insufficiently informed about their rights to access information.
The recommendations of the Study focus on:
- Amending/simplifying or updating procedures in the current regulatory framework;
- Adapting authorities' capacities to the actual needs of ensuring transparency;
- Implementing alternative forms of public consultation;
- Developing tools and activities to enhance stakeholder participation in decision-making at both central and local levels.
CSO proposals for a comprehensive legal framework on public participation in decision-making
While the State Chancellery focuses on amending the legislation on transparency, a CSO joint initiative led by CPR Moldova formulated proposals for a broader legal framework that extends beyond transparency to include participation in decision-making at all stages. The proposed vision suggests a legal framework regulating participation throughout the entire public policy cycle, from problem identification and policy formulation to adoption, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
Key proposals sent to the State Chancellery include:
- Clearly defining “public participation” in addition to “transparency” to avoid confusion. The definition should be broad and cover all stages of policymaking.
- Listing all relevant actors subject to the law, including Parliament, the Presidency, central and local public authorities, state-owned enterprises, and state-managed private entities. Parliament must explicitly comply with public participation standards, including for legislative amendments.
- Specifying when public consultations must be held and explicitly listing exceptions. Public participation should be required for all decisions, with citizens having the right to initiate proposals, such as through petitions.
- Introducing effective sanctions and a clear enforcement mechanism. Resources should be allocated for public participation, and a monitoring system should be created.
- Establishing clear accessibility, inclusion, and representativeness standards for public consultations. Direct engagement with affected groups should be ensured, and underrepresented communities should have resources allocated for participation.
- Clarifying forms of public participation to eliminate confusion. Decisions should be accessible through written and physical consultations, with at least two participation methods required at each stage.
- Setting proportional consultation deadlines based on decision complexity: 30 days for complex projects and 10 days for minor amendments. Authorities should have the ability to extend deadlines on their initiative and justify any reductions.
- Enforcing mandatory feedback obligations, requiring the publication of a summary table with received recommendations and the reasons for their acceptance or rejection.
State Chancellery establishes working group to draft amendments to the decision-making transparency framework
On 19 February, 2025, the State Chancellery established a working group to draft the proposed amendments to the regulatory framework on decision-making transparency. It includes 35 representatives from civil society and 21 from public institutions. Representatives of public institutions are part of the network of public servants (TeConsult) within the permanent consultative platforms established during 2023-2024. The group's activities are scheduled to begin on 27 February, 2025.
The process is expected to be long and involve irreconcilable views, but the hope is that a compromise will be reached, leading to amendments in the legal and regulatory framework that will also contribute to improving the practice.
The ongoing efforts reflect a significant push towards improving public participation and accountability in Moldova. While the process is expected to be complex and involve differing views, there is optimism that a compromise will lead to meaningful legal and regulatory changes. These amendments aim not only to enhance transparency but also to foster greater public involvement at all stages of policymaking. The collaboration between CSOs and public institutions, as well as the establishment of a dedicated working group, marks a positive step toward a more inclusive and effective decision-making process.