On 23 June 2022, the Republic of Moldova obtained the European Union (EU) candidate country status. The EU decision was based on the favourable opinion of the European Commission, after the evaluation of the completed questionnaire, in the context of the accession application submitted by the Republic of Moldova in March 2022. The first report of the European Commission on the progress made by the Republic of Moldova in the EU enlargement policy will be published in autumn 2023.

The answers to the EU questionnaire were also supplemented with the input of Moldovan experts from the diaspora and civil society. IPRE, Expert-Grup, and CRJM, in collaboration with the Soros Moldova Foundation, within the #ThinkTanks4EUMembership initiative, contributed to the preparation of the Republic of Moldova's answers to the EU Questionnaire. In April 2022, the National Commission for European Integration (NCEI) was established. Chaired by the President of the Republic of Moldova, the Commission is an inclusive platform that brings together members of the Government, parliamentarians, representatives of civil society and local authorities, which ensures the strategic coordination of the European integration process. On 4 August 2022, NCEI approved the Action Plan for the implementation of the measures proposed by the European Commission in its Opinion on the Republic of Moldova's EU membership application (hereinafter the Action Plan).

In this context, IPRE, Expert-Grup and CRJM, as part of the #ThinkTanks4EUMembership initiative, in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation have started a process of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the 9 recommendations of the European Commission. The results of the monitoring exercise are reflected in the #MoldovaEUCandidateCheck Monitoring Table available online here: https://euromonitor.md/en. On 13 April 2023, the first #MoldovaEUCandidateCheck Shadow Report and Monitoring Table was published, reflecting the results of the initial assessments for the period 1 July 2022 - 31 March 2023. The second Progress Report includes revised and updated information on the progress, shortcomings and priorities for the period 1 July 2022 - 30 June 2023, given that the deadline for meeting the 9 commitments is June 2023. This report also takes into account interim findings and additional priorities in the form of so-called "deltas", which will be taken into account by the European Commission when preparing the first Report under the EU Enlargement Package, to be published in autumn this year.

As a result of the updated assessment, we consider that by 30 June 2023, most of the measures have been implemented, with an overall average score of 4.24 points out of the maximum threshold of 5 points. From Out of the 60 actions corresponding to 9 measures provided by the authorities in the Action Plan: 24 actions (40%) have been completed, 25 actions (41.66%) have been implemented with some reservations, 10 actions (16,66%) are still to be implemented, and 1 action (1.67%) has been implemented with substantial reservations.

In the field of justice reform (1st commitment), we note that most of the actions planned by the authorities have been implemented with certain shortcomings or shall be finalised (4p out of 5). Thus, among the achievements are the adoption of Law no. 120/2021 for amending the Constitution and related legislation, with the aim of improving regulations regarding the judicial system. Other laws have been adopted that have consolidated the activity of the Judicial Inspection, amended legislation on the National Institute of Justice (INJ) and the prosecution, and introduced an extraordinary evaluation of candidates for the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) and the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP). On 30 March 2023, Parliament appointed three non-judge members to the SCM who had passed the pre-vetting, and four judge members of the SCM were elected from among the judges at the General Assembly of Judges on 28 April 2023. In April 2023, the SJC became operational. The Parliament announced a new competition for the 3 vacant positions of non-judge members of the SCM. The 9 candidates for the SJC are waiting to be evaluated by the Pre-Vetting Commission by the end of August. Regrettably, even though it should have done so earlier this spring, the SJC has not yet examined most of the more than 20 appeals against the decisions of the Pre-Vetting Commission. As of 30 June 2023, out of 18 PSC candidates, eight candidates passed the assessment and 10 failed the assessment. Therefore, four out of five new Pre-Vetting Members of the PSC could be elected by the General Assembly of Prosecutors by mid-September 2023. The evaluation of candidates for the colleges of judges and prosecutors was not initiated. The legislation regarding the activity of the prosecution was not adjusted in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission set out in point 41 of Opinion no. 1086 of June 20, 2022. A clear mechanism for verifying the wealth and interest declarations submitted by candidates enrolled at the INJ and an internal mechanism for verifying the integrity of judges and prosecutors at all stages of their careers were not regulated. 

Commitment 2 has been completed via implementation of the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR (4p out of 5). Thus, on December 8, 2022, the Parliament adopted the new Electoral Code of the Republic of Moldova, implementing the majority of OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, evaluation mission reports, and Constitutional Court addresses. Institutional changes focus on the composition and method of appointment of members of the Central Electoral Commission. The new Electoral Code allows for elections to be held in two days in certain electoral districts or polling stations for objective reasons, such as pandemics, exceptional situations, or high voter turnout. The list of subjects that can participate in elections has been expanded, including initiative groups and electoral blocs. The consultative process related to the adoption of the Electoral Code involved all interested parties, such as civil society, political parties, and the public administration. However, it should be noted that the decision of the authorities to include a single activity in the Action Plan seems to be a rather narrow interpretation. In the authors' opinion, Commitment 2 is expected to additionally reflect the evaluation of the implementation of the Venice Commission's recommendations with reference to Commitment 1, namely the completion of essential stages of comprehensive justice system reform in accordance with Venice Commission Opinion No. 1058, related to the draft law on the prosecution service and Venice Commission Opinion No. 102 on the judiciary system. Additionally, the authorities should objectively determine whether other recently announced draft laws fall under the category of "essential stages of comprehensive justice system reform," such as the reform of the Supreme Court of Justice and the evaluation of Supreme Court judges, the extraordinary evaluation of judges and prosecutors (full-vetting), the conventional draft law called the de-oligarchization package (which is reflected in Commitment 4), or the package of laws on the Intelligence and Security Service. 

In the field of combating corruption (commitment 3), by the end of June 2023, the accumulated score is 3.77 out of 5. Two actions have been additionally implemented with some shortcomings, while three others are still to be completed. One of the key developments of the reporting period is the adoption of the new law on whistle-blowers also transposing the EU Directive 2019/1937. In 2022 and the first half of 2023, an increase in the share of pro-active investigations by APO of corruption cases was observed, with a higher focus on major ones. There is also an increase in the number of criminal cases concluded with convictions, with 59 convictions compared to 41 in the first half of 2022. However, there was a decrease in the share of corruption cases brought to court. Thus, 6 criminal cases investigated conducted by APO prosecutors were referred to trial (while 11 in the same period of 2023) and 59 criminal cases under the direction of APO prosecutors (75 in 1st half of 2022). In another context, NAC drafted the Strategic Analysis Report on 117 convictions in 2022 on corruption cases. However, by the end of June, the final version of the report had not been published. NAC also reviewed 351 draft legislative acts for anti-corruption expertise, of which 116 were draft laws, including 49 initiated by MPs. Government discipline in approving draft legislation with anti-corruption expertise has significantly improved. Only one out of 373 draft laws was approved circumventing anti-corruption expertise, compared to 15 out of 232 in the same period of 2022. On the other hand, the rate of non-implementation of NAC recommendations on the elimination of corruption risks increased (from 12% in the first half of 2022 to 21% in the same period of 2023). Finally, although a law  to clarify the competences between the NAC and APO was adopted in April 2023, some implementation gaps have emerged along the way. There are certain differences between the NAC and the PA on the effective investigation of high-level corruption. Also, the initial solution provided by the April law is to be revised by maintaining the NAC's competence to prosecute petty level corruption cases. These and other issues concerning the clear demarcation of competences between the NAC and the APO, as well as strengthening the capacity of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office to investigate high corruption, are to be addressed as a matter of priority by parliament by autumn this year. In addition, the enforcement mechanism for special investigative measures needs to be improved.

Regarding "de-oligarchisation" (commitment 4), most actions have been implemented with some reservations (3.7p out of 5). After consultation with state institutions and the Venice Commission, the authorities dropped the project on eliminating the excessive influence of private interests on economic, political and public life in exchange for a de-oligarchisation action plan. This plan, presented and consulted on in March-April 2023, received a new opinion from the Venice Commission in June 2023. A Directorate for Supervision and Control of the Financing of Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns has been established within the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). Law 303/2022 amended the Audiovisual Media Services Code, giving the Audiovisual Council the power to verify and approve or reject the annual activity reports of media service providers. During the reporting period, the Audiovisual Council reviewed 68 activity reports of TV service providers for the year 2022. The Regulations for the organisation of the competition for the selection of the institution specialised in the measurement of audience shares were finalised. The Competition Council took several measures to improve and update the competition and state aid legislation. A working group has been set up to propose amendments to the law, and a draft law has been presented to Parliament and voted in first reading. During the reporting period, regulations were approved on the selection of members of the boards of state-owned companies and on the boards of auditors and audit committees of state-owned companies, including their remuneration conditions (GD 209 and 210 of 2023). 

In the field of combating organized crime (commitment 5), most actions have been implemented and some are in the process of implementation (4,35p out of 5). Thus, the Government has adopted and initiated the implementation of the Internal Affairs Development Strategy for the years 2022-2030. The Criminal Assets Recovery Program for the period 2023-2027 has been adopted. Law No 48/2023 on cyber security and the new provisions of the Law on preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing were adopted and published. Among the most important priorities in the immediate period ahead are the drafting and adoption of legislative amendments to implement the civil forfeiture mechanism, as well as secondary legislation to implement legislative amendments in the area of preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

In the field of public administration reform (commitment 6), most actions have been fulfilled and an action related to the digitalization of public services is in the process of implementation (4p out of 5). Twelve electronic services have been launched in the field of cadastre and eleven others have been integrated with the MDelivery service. A support mechanism for the staff of public authorities to achieve priority tasks has been established, and decisions to increase the headcount limit of policy-making units within the Central Public Administration have been promoted. An ex-post evaluation report of the Public Administration Reform Strategy 2016-2020 has been developed and a new Public Administration Reform Strategy was adopted, which addresses the issue of public officials' salaries and professionalization, delimitation of roles within the public administration, and consolidation of fiscal autonomy of local public administration, has been approved. In the context of implementing the revised Roadmap on Local and Regional Democracy, progress has been made in revitalising the work of the Joint Decentralisation Committee, consolidating the tax base of level I local public administration through changes to budget and fiscal policies for 2023, the establishment of the right of local councils to set monthly allowances of up to 40% of salary for local authorities' staff, but progress in delimiting public property is modest. The main priority is to consolidate public administration authorities through salary reform and to avoid the practice of incentivizing public officials by including them in the boards of state-owned companies.

Regarding the reform of public finance management (commitment 7), all the actions have been completed (5 points). A regulation on low-value public procurement has been developed and approved, a formal procedure for identifying eligible public investment projects to be included in the Medium-Term Budgetary Framework/State Budget Law project has been established, and the scope of the public investment management framework has been expanded. A public finance management development strategy for the period 2023-2030 has been developed, aimed at improving the quality of macroeconomic and fiscal forecasts, establishing an adequate accounting and reporting system in the budgetary sector, the continuous development of the public finance management information system, and ensuring the use of public funds in accordance with good governance principles.

In the field of civil society cooperation (commitment 8), has been completed (4,6p out of 5). During the reporting period, the Parliament approved in final reading the draft law on information of public interest. The law is a very important one with well-defined regulations, but there is only one technical constraint. The progress indicator is "law in force" in June 2023. However, according to the final and transitional provisions, the law will enter into force 6 months after the day of publication in the Official Gazette. The new concept on the development vision of civil society has been approved, including the prerequisites for strengthening cooperation between Parliament and civil society, after the Platform for dialogue and civic participation in Parliament's decision-making process was approved on 15 June 2023. However, the Framework Regulation on non-repayable financing of non-commercial organizations' projects and on improving the process of developing public policy documents has been adopted. The Ministry of Justice has drafted a law on access to public interest information, but the current version of the draft, does not address the issues raised by journalists. On the other hand, transparency and predictability in the decision-making process are still affected in Parliament, where the transparency of projects under review has been affected on average by 69%. In addition, the permanent platforms for consultation with civil society at the level of Parliament and Government have not yet been launched. The State Chancellery needs to expedite the consultation and approval of the new Concept on the development of civil society, and authorities need to improve the ex-post evaluation mechanism of legislation to understand if the intended objectives have been achieved.

In the area of human rights protection (commitment 9), all actions where implemented (4.75p out of 5). Amendments were adopted to the regulatory framework to ensure non-discrimination and equality, and this included extending the criteria for discrimination and amending the Contravention Code. In addition, adjustments have been made to the Law on the Ombudsman, and criminal and procedural legislation has been aligned with the provisions of the Istanbul and Lanzarote Conventions. The Government approved the Programme for the Promotion and Ensuring of Equality between Women and Men in the Republic of Moldova for the years 2023-2027. And a gender budgeting approach has been included in the Public Finance Management Development Strategy for 2023-2030. At the same time, the Government approved the National Programme on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence for 2023-2027. The implementation of these documents will further contribute to the promotion of the principle of equal opportunities between women and men. The main challenge for the authorities concerns the implementation of the approved policy documents. At this stage delays in the implementation of planned actions can already be reported. It is recommended to improve inter-institutional dialogue and cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ethnic Relations Agency, implement the Program to support the Roma population, and revise legislation for clarification and separation of the responsibilities for detecting cases of incitement to discrimination.

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This publication is developed within the "Moldova-EU Candidate Check: 9 steps towards the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union" Project implemented by the Institute for European Policies and Reforms, Expert-Grup, and the Centre for Legal Resources of Moldova (CRJM), in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). The publication represents an independent evaluation by the authors on the degree of implementation of the Action Plan for the implementation of the 9 key political and economic criteria identified by the European Commission in its June 2022 opinion, approved by the National Commission for European Integration (NCEI), which also includes representatives of IPRE and Expert-Grup, civil society organizations that are members of the National Platform of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership. The opinions presented in the report belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the position of the National Platform of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership, NCEI, or the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.