We want CCCEC to get rid of political control, director

The top priority of the Strategy for reformation of the Center for Fighting Economic Crimes and Corruption is to eliminate political control. The statement was made by the CCCEC director Viorel Chetraru during a public debate on the Strategy, Info-Prim Neo reports. “When we launched this reform, our main goal was to get rid of the political burden because those in power are too tempted to put pressure on such institutions. In the current circumstances, it's crucial that the risk of such interventions is minimized. What are the mechanisms? What are the guarantees? How can this independence be assured? We're still searching”, said Viorel Chetraru. The CCCEC director explained that this problem was shared by most of the similar institutions in the region: Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary. “All of my colleagues confirmed that depoliticization was the priority everyone was working on”, he said. Galina Bostan, president of the Center of Analysis and Prevention of Corruption, stressed that any director, no matter how independent he tries to be, can be politically influenced. “You must have a very strong character to be immune against any influences”, she said. Galina Bostan thinks that the focus should be on the director not influencing the CCCEC officers who run the investigation. CReDO director Sergiu Ostaf added that the Strategy should include the whole policy of protection of CCCEC officers. “The Penal Code punishes traffic of influence, but the interpretation of this article doesn't offer full protection. We need to amend the Penal Code to extend protection for every action”, he said. According to Sergiu Ostaf, the employees should be obliged to report cases of traffic of influence. MP Mihai Godea, member of the parliamentary commission for national security, defense and public order, hopes the Strategy for reformation of the Center for Fighting Economic Crimes and Corruption will become more than mere declarations and will actually be put into practice. “If I can draw some comparisons, the Ministry of the Interior only simulates reforms and cannot understand what democratic control and demilitarization mean. It only tries to create the appearance of reformation. I don't want the CCCEC to remain the hostage of a status quo. Time and energy should not be spent simulating certain things. The commission is willing to accept a faster progression in this domain and ready to contribute with all its support and available capacities”, said Godea. The Strategy stipulates that the CCCEC director is appointed by the President of Moldova on Prime Minister's proposal, after a selection contest organized by the Government. The CCCEC director will have to present annual reports about the institution's activity to the Parliament. The President should not have any tools of influence and control over the Center. According to the Strategy, the director is appointed for 5 years and cannot be appointed for a second consecutive mandate. The project was discussed during public debates organized by the parliamentary commission for national security, defense and public order at the request of the Anticorruption Alliance with the support of UNDP Moldova.