Deputy Secretary General of Government participates in Strasbourg in meeting of Steering Committee on Democracy

Deputy Secretary General of the Government Alexandru Iacub is taking part in the 5th plenary meeting of the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Democracy (CDDEM), held on 8–10 June in Strasbourg. The event brings together representatives of member states and Council of Europe bodies to examine European priorities on strengthening democratic institutions, good governance, public participation, and democratic resilience.

During the meeting, Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe presented the main elements of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, followed by an exchange of views with CDDEM members on the Committee’s contribution to strengthening democratic resilience in member states. The official highlighted the Republic of Moldova as a relevant example of consolidating democratic resilience, noting the efforts of the authorities to strengthen institutions and to adapt to current challenges to democracy.

The meeting’s agenda also included debates on the application of the Parameters for Democracy, the methodological framework for assessing democratic processes, the participation in elections of women, youth and people in vulnerable situations, standards for e-voting and the impact of artificial intelligence on democratic processes.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Deputy Secretary General of the Government held a discussion with Daniel Popescu, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Regions. They discussed prospects for cooperation to strengthen local and regional democracy in the Republic of Moldova, reviewing progress and priorities related to promoting multi-level dialogue, open government, public participation and the implementation of Council of Europe standards on local self-government.

Alexandru Iacub stressed that the Republic of Moldova is ready to contribute actively to the development of European instruments for strengthening democratic security, drawing on its own experience in countering hybrid threats and information interference. “The Republic of Moldova has shown that disinformation can be countered without limiting freedom of expression, and it is now ready to move from the status of beneficiary to that of contributor,” said Iacub.

In discussions with Claudia Luciani, Director of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the Deputy Secretary General of the Government presented the latest developments in the implementation of local public administration reform, with the progress in transforming public administration in the Republic of Moldova being positively assessed.

Talks with Niall Sheerin, Deputy Head of the Democratic Governance Division, and Denis Durmish, Project Coordinator focused on the Republic of Moldova’s priorities in reforming local public administration, the process of voluntary amalgamation of municipalities, and the need for technical assistance to strengthen institutional capacities at local level. The European officials expressed openness to provide support according to the current needs of our country, in addition to the assistance already available to support clusters. The State Chancellery seeks to harness European expertise in areas such as inter-municipal cooperation and the development of intercommunity development associations.

During the visit, the Government’s commitment to modernising public administration, strengthening democratic institutions and bringing national practices closer to European standards in the fields of democracy, the rule of law and human rights was reaffirmed.