In Strasbourg, was announced the Council of Europe Action Plan for Moldova for 2021-2024, the budget of which for 4 years will be approximately 13.7 million euros.
President of Moldova Maia Sandu and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić took part in the official presentation of the document. According to the MFAEI, the said Action Plan defines the priorities of cooperation for the next 4 years, and its main goal is to support democratic reforms and the implementation of Council of Europe standards in the field of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Moldova. Based on the Action Plan, the Council of Europe will continue to provide assistance to Moldova in the following priority areas: justice reform and combating corruption and money laundering, supporting media independence, eliminating discrimination, torture and ill-treatment, combating violence against women and children, strengthening local autonomy and etc. A special chapter in the Action Plan is devoted to confidence-building measures between the two banks of the Dniester. In these areas, joint projects are intended to consolidate the results achieved through the implementation of previous action plans. At the same time, were identified and agreed upon new areas, the consolidation of which requires joint efforts and support from the Council of Europe, including legal assistance; mediation and conciliation in criminal cases; combating human trafficking; social and human rights in the health sector; preventing and combating violence against women and local government. It should be noted that this is the third action plan of the Council of Europe for our country, involving measures worth about 13.7 million euros. The funds come from contributions from member states of the Council of Europe, as well as from third countries and international organizations, as well as from the core budget of the Council of Europe. During a bilateral meeting with Maia Sandu, Marija Pejčinović Burić assured that she would support Moldova's efforts to fight corruption, stressing that this scourge continues to affect many countries around the world. “Fighting this phenomenon is necessary, even if the results of this fight are not immediately visible,” she said. The head of state discussed with the EU Secretary General the situation in our country, further steps to overcome the political crisis after the decision of the Constitutional Court of April 15, as well as efforts to combat the consequences of the pandemic crisis in Moldova. // 19.04.2021 — InfoMarket
