By CHISINAU. Dec 19 (Interfax) – The Moldovan government is not planning to extend the state of emergency, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said.
“The government has been working since summer in order to not extend the state of emergency. Since then, we have developed the necessary legislation to enable the government to act in such situations, emergencies, through different mechanisms, different tools that are more accessible to parliamentary control. Society demanded this from us, parliament itself demanded this from us. We have prepared the entire legislative framework, and I think that we will have time to do it all by the end of December,” Recean said on the TV8 channel on Tuesday.
The same applies to broadcasting by certain television channels suspended during the state of emergency, the fight against organized criminal groups seeking to destabilize the country, and the energy supply, he said.
As for gas supplies from January 1, 2024, he said, “substantial reserves have been formed to provide consumers with gas.”
“The most important thing in our dialogue is to provide gas and to set the smallest tariff. Last year the question was whether we have gas or not, and the emphasis was placed differently. We are prepared this year and, therefore, have enough gas to last through the season. We will be using the gas sold at the smallest price for consumers,” Recean said.
A lot has been done in the past two years to bolster the country’s energy independence and Moldova’s resilience to crises, Recean said. “We had to adapt during this time, change the legislation – so that, on the one hand, the government could act when necessary, but on the other hand, so that there was open, transparent parliamentary control over the actions of the government,” he said. “Some other legislative amendments will be adopted at the end of the week to enable our institutions to respond if necessary,” he said.
Moldova declared a state of emergency on February 24, 2022. The state of emergency was extended ten times for 60 days, once for 45 days, and once for 30 days. All parliamentary factions unanimously voted for the state of emergency on February 24, but only the faction of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity voted for this later, while the opposition said there was no need for the state of emergency. The Party of Socialists even disputed the parliamentary majority’s decision at the Constitutional Court but its appeals were turned down.
