On the 2nd of February 2014, the population of the autonomy were called to take part in two referenda – consultative and legislative, which were subsequently declared to be illegal by the central authorities. The decision on the organization of these plebiscites was taken in November 2013, as a result of the initialing by the Republic of Moldova of the Association Agreement with the European Union. This context of the relationships between the centre and autonomy drew the attention of the international community.
In 2015, the Parliament turned to CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation for the provision of mediation services and expertise as well as for the establishment of a constructive dialogue between Chisinau and Comrat. Thus, in November 2015 the Parliamentary Working Group on Gagauzia was created.
Throughout the process, the Working Group identified solutions for the improvement of the existing mechanisms and for the creation of new procedures for clarification of competences of the Autonomy and for the prevention of potential misunderstandings between the centre and autonomy.
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The objectives that set the basis for the creation of the working group were establishment of a permanent parliamentary dialogue between the Gagauz authorities and the Parliament, as well as the creation of mechanisms for the clarification of the competences of the autonomy and prevention of possible misunderstandings between the two parties.
Larisa Voloh, co-president of the Parliamentary Working Group on Gagauzia
External partners and Chisinau decided to join their efforts to create an institutional platform for a permanent cooperation between the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova and the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia.
Alexandr Tarnavschi, deputy president of the People’s Assembly
This material was developed in the framework of the project “Supporting institutionalized and sustainable dialogue on Gagauzia Autonomy”, implemented by CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation and financed by Sweden. The opinions expressed in this material pertain to the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of CMI or of Sweden.