DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
2019–2026
Introduction
The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is the newest state on the European continent, established on September 2, 1990. The proclamation of Pridnestrovie’s independence was followed by a series of fundamentally important events.
On June 23, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the SSR of Moldova adopted decisions that ceased the existence of the Moldavian SSR, of which Pridnestrovie was a part until this period. These decisions were the Declaration of Sovereignty of the SSR of Moldova and the Decree recognizing creation of the MSSR as illegal. These acts brought the situation back to the state of 1940, when the territories of Pridnestrovie and Bessarabia were different state actors.
After the MSSR disappeared in legal terms, Moldova and Pridnestrovie determined their future independently on the basis of the universal principle of the people’s right to self-determination. By proclaiming independence, the Republic of Moldova was relatively soon recognized by the international community. Pridnestrovie was denied international recognition, despite that the Republic declared the course towards independence in pursuance of the referendums held on its territory.
However, for 28 years, Pridnestrovie, relying on the will of its residents, has formed a full-fledged state-legal system that meets the basic principles of democracy, including the principle of separation of powers into legislative, judicial and executive. This system is based on the democratic principles of the will of the people, has absolute internal legitimacy and guarantees the actual sovereignty of the Pridnestrovian state, which belongs directly to its citizens.
Despite international non-recognition, for many years the Pridnestrovian state has demonstrated its ability to ensure sovereignty, independence, national and territorial integrity.
A younger generation of Pridnestrovian citizens was born and raised during the existence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which forms a new community, called the Pridnestrovian nation.
The economy of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic has managed to maintain its capacity in the conditions of instability of the world economy and restrictive economic measures imposed against the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, while at the same time following the society-oriented vector of development.
However, today, there is a number of problems and tasks in the economic, financial, social, health, education, defense and other significant areas of government regulation, which need to be approached to ensure the further development of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
The present 2019–2026 Development Strategy of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Strategy) is intended to consolidate the actions of public authorities, local governments, civil society institutions to create favorable internal and external conditions for the realization of national interests and priorities of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which will lead to the creation of favorable conditions for the State to develop, ensuring the growth of citizens’ welfare and countering negative trends.
The main goal and principles of development of the Pridnestrovian state remain political stability, economic self-sufficiency and social justice, formed on the distinct and clearly expressed ideology of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which is a combination of the following basic elements:
1) strengthening the independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic with a focus on gaining international recognition and implementation of the results of the 2006 referendum;
2) continuing formation of the Pridnestrovian nation, which includes representatives of various nationalities, ethnic groups and is based on the preservation and development of languages, cultures, customs and traditions;
3) building a society-oriented state with a market economy.
The Strategy is the basic document of strategic planning, defining national interests and priorities of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, goals, objectives and measures in the field of domestic and foreign policies aimed at the long-term development of the country.
1. CURRENT SITUATION, RISKS AND CHALLENGES
1.1. Political environment
Since 1990 two different constitutional spaces of Moldova and Pridnestrovie have been formed and functioning stably within the borders of the former Soviet MSSR. These two spaces involve opposite political, legislative, financial, economic, judicial, educational, ideological, cultural, linguistic, law-enforcement and other public systems.
In 2002, Pridnestrovie became an international actor through a multilateral negotiating mechanism for the conflict settlement in the format of the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Negotiation Process on Pridnestrovian Settlement, all participants of which accepted the status of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic as an equal party to the international dialogue. Today, international participants tacitly agree with the objective fact of existence of Moldova and Pridnestrovie as independent entities. At the same time, the world community does not want to take into account the obvious legal arguments and refuses to internationally recognize the independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, being guided exclusively by the political situation.
Due to the unsettled relations between Pridnestrovie and the Republic of Moldova, a zone of regional instability has been formed around the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, accompanied by constant pressure on foreign trade.
In these constantly changing conditions, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is forced to continuously adapt to an extremely unstable external environment and find optimal forms of interaction with external partners. At the moment there is a favorable environment in Pridnestrovie with mutual understanding between all branches and authorities. Possessing extremely limited capabilities and resources, the Pridnestrovian state, through a long and serious dialogue, must reach those compromises that would soften the painful decisions of external players in relation to the Republic.
Given the above, a key factor in ensuring the statehood and independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the stability of the state’s political system should be formation of the internal conditions of political stability and society’s consolidation.
1.2. Economic environment
The dynamics of the economic development of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic largely depend on the influence of external geopolitical factors, primarily the factor of international non-recognition.
The established sectoral structure of the economy determines its hyper-openness and dependence on the situation at world and regional markets. These circumstances impose increased requirements on the macroeconomic policy implemented at the state level, which requires to take into account foreseeable external and internal risks.
Structural imbalances accumulated in the economy and resulted in a full-blown crisis of 2015-2016, affecting both the real and financial sectors, as well as the social sphere, necessitated a change in approaches in the interaction of state authorities and business entities, formation of a new paradigm of institutional development.
Taking into account trends, a sufficiently developed industrial complex in the republic, it is necessary, on the one hand, to preserve the existing economic ties, on the other hand, to increase export opportunities through active promotion of Pridnestrovian products to world markets, as well as to take measures to attract large-scale investments in fixed capital, which will not only maintain, but also improve and increase the industrial potential of the Republic.
Pridnestrovie has its own raw material base for construction: cement, brick, lime, concrete, sand, limestone, gravel, produced in the Republic.
Rich fertile land and good climate favor the development of agriculture, especially in such sectors as gardening, vegetable growing and viticulture. In general, the agriculture in the Republic has enormous potential, taking into account the needs of the current domestic market of Pridnestrovie-originated food products.
In the agrarian sector, due to the recent growth of the production of certain crops and of good indicators in the local crop industry there is considerable potential and prospects for import substitution.
At the same time, the Republic is traditionally characterized by an extensive industrial production structure: electric power industry, iron-and-steel industry, chemical industry, mechanical engineering and metalworking, wood processing industry, construction materials industry, light industry (clothing, footwear, textile), food industry, flour milling industry, grain industry.
Thus, taking into account the potential of agricultural land, the climate and the volume of the domestic market in the Republic, one of the tools to protect against blockade economic measures should be active import substitution based on the development of priority sectors of agriculture and processing industry necessary for food security.
Accordingly, the main goal of the economic strategy of all public authorities and administration should be the desire to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the economic self-sufficiency of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic in the medium term.
1.3. Social conditions
One of the most important objectives of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic as a society-oriented state is to ensure social security and increase the level and quality of life of citizens, especially those groups of the population who, due to age, health or other life circumstances, are not able to create for themselves decent living conditions and need support from the State.
An effective social policy, which is aimed at improving the well-being and quality of life of the population and guarantees the social protection of citizens, is impossible without sustainable economic growth, which serves as the material basis for solving all major social problems.
Providing a gradual increase in the real incomes of all categories of the population is a basic condition for improving the quality and longevity of a person’s life and is also a strategic goal of the entire social and economic policy of the State.
At the same time, some elements of the social sphere of the Republic’s life function in many respects under a ‘no change’ scenario, under conditions of chronic budgetary underfunding, which can lead to a decrease in motivation to work, a slowdown in the professional growth of social sector workers and a corresponding general deterioration in the quality of socially significant services provided by the State to the entire population.
The main objectives of social policy should be such areas as better quality of life of citizens through food security, high-quality and safe goods and services, modern education and health care, availability of sports facilities, creation of jobs and favorable conditions for increasing social mobility, quality of work, decent pay, decent pension, which is the basis for ensuring social justice in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
2. POLITICAL STABILITY
2.1. Political system and development of civil society
Stability of the Pridnestrovie’s political system, its flexibility and compliance with the advanced standards of democracy is of fundamental importance to present the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic as a modern and full participant in international communication.
At the same time, it should be noted that today Pridnestrovie has fully formed the necessary legislative framework in this area and gained extensive practical experience in the functioning of various components of the political system. Civil society institutions, represented by a large number of nonprofit organizations (hereinafter – NPOs) function effectively in the Republic. A large part of Pridnestrovian NPOs for many years have been successfully interacting with government authorities in various areas.
In this context, during the period of implementation of this Strategy, it seems necessary to focus on the development of already existing institutions of the political system and practices of interaction with civil society.
1. The fundamental objective is to increase openness and quality of media coverage of political processes. The availability of comprehensive and accessible to wide audience information about the functioning of political institutions of Pridnestrovie forms an idea of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic as a modern transparent democracy.
2. While implementing this Strategy, it is necessary to focus on building a consistent dialogue between the authorities and non-profit organizations of the Republic based on equal cooperation.
3. A strategically important task is the full-scale implementation of legislation on the fundamentals of public (popular) control with a gradual expansion of the categories of participants in such control. The complete formation of the institution of social and civic initiatives will stimulate the population to take an active and direct part in the public life of the State.
4. It is necessary to develop mechanisms for direct consultations and discussions among public authorities, as well as political institutions and civic associations. Such mechanisms allow debureaucratisation of contacts of non-governmental institutions with the government, guarantee ability of the active public to form and address inquiries directly to the authorities in the course of regular discussions. This practice will allow to create the image of the government as an open and accountable system to citizens, which also corresponds to world standards in this area.
5. It is important to increase the prestige of social activities and civic activism among young people. Such an approach will allow to form an understanding among young citizens of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic that they can directly influence development of their state through initiative and active participation in civic associations. Together with the implementation of the above task, this will lead to a more active, targeted and productive articulation of their interests by citizens, and will confirm the openness of the governmental system to the citizens’ opinion.
While implementing the Strategy, it is advisable to promote at the state level the development of the volunteer movement, including individual initiatives designed to draw attention to specific problems. Encouraging this kind of actions, as well as their wide coverage in the mass media, will help to draw attention to the pressing issues, to include them in the list of priority tasks of both state policy and immediate actions of relevant local authorities.
2.2. International presentation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
Due to the unresolved conflict with the Republic of Moldova, foreign media over the years have created a negative image of Pridnestrovie by replicating false information and propaganda myths. Thus, success in the settlement of the conflict with the Republic of Moldova directly determines elimination of root causes of the negative image of Pridnestrovie.
The following fundamental elements allow achieving tangible results in this activity:
a) stable functioning of the international negotiation format of the Permanent Conference on Political Issues in the Negotiation Process on Pridnestrovian Settlement in the 5+2 format, as well as consistent dialogue at the level of political representatives and relevant experts of the parties;
b) constant contacts between the leaders of Pridnestrovie and the Republic of Moldova in the 1+1 format;
c) resolution of practical social and humanitarian issues at the negotiating table in the interests of citizens on the whole range of issues affecting their well-being.
At the same time, the most important component of activities on settling relations with the Republic of Moldova is informing of people in foreign countries on the inalienable right of the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic to independence, since this course is defined at referenda by the people of Pridnestrovie. Along with this, the international presentation of Pridnestrovie directly depends on the nature and level of development of the republic’s foreign policy contacts. In relations with the Russian Federation, further strengthening and expansion of political and diplomatic contacts, cooperation in peacekeeping and security, development of trade and economic ties and increasing mutual trade, increasing cultural and humanitarian ties and interaction among social institutions are of fundamental importance.
To build cooperation with Ukraine, maintain and build up trade and economic relations, cooperate in peacekeeping, continue political and diplomatic contacts as Ukraine is a guarantor in the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian settlement, as well as to maintain cultural and humanitarian ties based on common history, remain priorities in cooperation with Ukraine.
The key content of relations with the Republic of Moldova is to reach agreements on current economic, social and humanitarian aspects, as well as to guarantee implementation of these agreements. The strategic task in this area is construction of equal good neighborly interstate relations with the Republic of Moldova.
In the field of foreign economic relations, a topical objective is to conduct balanced trade with the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union, as well as to attract foreign investment.
Due to the fact that the image of the state was mostly formed by outside actors hostile to the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the external audience often assess the image of Pridnestrovie as extremely or moderately negative. A similar situation is also associated with the information vacuum around the Republic, which is caused by the lack of targeted information and image policy of the state.
The most significant concerns about the current image of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic are:
a) association with armed conflict;
b) viewing of Pridnestrovie as a “frozen in time” territory, a remnant of the USSR;
c) association of Pridnestrovie with a hotbed of instability and tension in Eastern Europe;
d) widespread views about absence of legal and administrative mechanisms for the rule of law and protection of human rights in Pridnestrovie;
e) lack of objective information and preservation of the myth of a “gray zone” in Pridnestrovie.
Persistence of negative perceptions of the Pridnestrovie’s image creates serious obstacles to the development of the Republic, in particular, limits the investment, tourism potential, and also reduces the possibility of political communication with external actors.
Thus, formation of a positive image of Pridnestrovie in the foreign policy arena directly contributes to increasing the competitiveness of the country, which indicates the need to implement an integrated state policy in the field of international presentation.
At the same time, the image strategy of Pridnestrovie should be built in two directions: overcoming of negative misleading myths and shaping of positive images.
The core elements of the state policy in the field of international presentation are:
a) the ‘Pridnestrovian nation’ de facto community, consisting of many nations and nationalities, with the functioning of the three official languages at the state level;
b) self-identification of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic as a stable, internally solid, independent state, committed to the principles of democracy and the protection of human rights, seeking for broad international recognition;
c) wide dissemination of information about Pridnestrovie as an investment and tourist attractive country with a multicultural society;
d) creation of new and promotion of already existing national brands in the economy, social sphere, culture and history;
e) ensuring of maximum availability of information on the activities of public authorities, including on ensuring human rights;
f) state support of cultural diplomacy and contacts with foreign countries through various areas of art;
g) development of the public diplomacy, institutionalization and practical implementation of soft power tools at the governmental level;
h) creation of system mechanisms for working with compatriots living abroad.
These elements of the state policy in the field of international presentation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic should be fixed in the government programs for the short and medium term.
2.3. State security
2.3.1. Military (defense) doctrine
The main goals and objectives of the construction of the Armed Forces of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic are the creation and development of troops capable of protecting the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, safety of its citizens and other vital interests of society and the state through means of bringing their structure, strength and composition in accordance with the predicted military threats, taking into account the needs and real capabilities of the state to provide military security of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, current and future tasks in peacetime, during the immediate threat of aggression and in wartime, as well as political, socio-economic, demographic and military-technical conditions and capabilities of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
To achieve these goals and accomplish the tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, measures in the following areas are required:
a) improving operational training of the Armed Forces of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic:
1) introduction to the process of operational training of scientifically based teaching methods, the use of new effective forms, methods and means of training, improvement of the methodology of operational training;
2) development and implementation of an intensive general training program with a survival course;
3) strengthening of the ideological, patriotic and spiritual and moral education of servicemen;
4) improving of the training of junior specialists (section commanders, tank crews) and other specialists who require specific training in a military specialty;
5) preparation of reserves, development of means and methods for improving the methodological systems of training and education, individual methods taking into account the specifics of the troops, especially the training of military specialists in various fields;
6) carrying out of maintenance and major repairs of physical training and sports facilities;
b) improving the organizational structure:
1) combat units;
2) combat and logistic support units;
3) technical support units and military commissariats;
c) improving the logistics:
1) modernization and scheduled repair of weapons and equipment (purchase of spare parts and components);
2) creation in the military registration and enlistment offices of the Republic of a system of full electronic registration of all designated personnel and conscripts;
3) purchase of automotive equipment;
4) re-equipment (provision) of military units with communication facilities;
5) re-equipment of stationary and mobile control points;
6) replacement of technological refrigeration equipment and dishware, household equipment in the canteen of military units (institutions);
7) renewal of bathing and laundry equipment;
d) constructing new and repairing existing buildings and constructions, communications;
e) providing servicemen and students of Suvorov Military College with uniforms;
f) increasing the availability of information services:
1) creation of a unified, protected information and telecommunications network of the Ministry of Defense of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, separated from external telecommunication providers;
2) ensuring of uninterrupted telecommunication with all divisions by means of information and telecommunication networks;
3) transfer of paperwork of the Ministry of Defense of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic to the electronic document management system;
4) equipping of military units (institutions) with video surveillance systems;
g) social protection of servicemen and their families:
1) provision of housing for servicemen eligible and in need of it;
2) organization of recreation and treatment of servicemen, as well as their children’s leisure and improvement of their health;
3) an increase in the monetary allowance of servicemen and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
2.3.2. State security
In order to improve the quality of management and efficiency of operational activities of the state security service of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the efforts of the Ministry of State Security of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic should focus on the following priorities:
a) to ensure activities on prevention and suppression of infringements on the constitutional order, state sovereignty, territorial integrity and defense capability of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
b) to improve work with personnel and their professional training;
c) to develop and strengthen physical infrastructure of the state security service of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
d) to improve protection and security of the State Border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
To achieve these priority goals, the following mechanisms are proposed to be used:
a) improving the legislative framework:
1) development and adoption of the National Security Concept of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
2) development and adoption of the State Border Policy of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
3) development and adoption of the information security doctrine of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
4) development and adoption of a counter-extremism strategy of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
b) increasing personnel professionalism:
1) improvement of the system of selection, placement and relocation of personnel in the state security service of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
2) within the framework of the combat training programs of the nonorganic training center of the Ministry of State Security of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, organize involvement of teachers of the A.I. Lebed Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic for training with employees of the Border Administration and other military units of the state security service of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
3) creation of conditions for the staff of the state security service of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic to get a second higher education in the higher educational institutions of the Republic if necessary;
4) creation of conditions for advanced training for certain categories of staff of the state security service of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
5) improvement of the educational and methodological base and logistical support of the nonorganic training center of the Ministry of State Security of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic in order to improve the quality of training, retraining and qualification of staff of the state security service;
6) creation of a system of postgraduate training;
c) a set of measures to increase the level of protection of highly classified information, as well as raising the qualifications of persons admitted to highly classified information:
1) development and approval of a new legal instrument that regulates the procedure for admitting officials and citizens of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic to highly classified information;
2) development of a legal act in pursuance of the Law of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic “On State Secrets”, which establishes additional social guarantees for citizens who are admitted to state secrets on an ongoing basis, and staff of units in charge of protection of state secrets;
3) preparation of a legislative initiative to allocate funding from the republican budget for provision of adequate and sufficient conditions for protection of state secrets of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic at the facilities in conjunction with the institutions where information security bodies operate;
4) organization on a regular and systemic basis of complex measures to verify the degree of protection of highly classified information;
5) development and implementation of a training program for persons allowed to access highly classified information, those responsible for arrangement and activities of information security bodies in public authorities and organizations of various forms of ownership, and the legal and methodological foundations for organizing work to protect state secrets;
d) a set of measures to counter terrorism:
1) improving the management of counter-terrorism operations in the course of special tactical exercises and command-staff trainings of the Operation Headquarters to plan the use of forces and means of executive bodies of state power and their territorial counter-terrorism bodies, to manage counter-terrorist operations (hereinafter referred to as the Operation Headquarters);
2) maintaining the forces and means of the Operation Headquarters ready for accomplishment of practical tasks;
3) developing and adopting the Main Areas of the state counter-terrorism policy;
4) improving provisions of the Law of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic “On Counteracting Terrorism”;
5) developing amendments to the legislation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic in regards to the legal framework for the use of physical force, special equipment, weapons and military equipment by state security officers;
e) measures to improve protection of the State Border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and to increase the level of logistical and information support of the border authorities:
1) developing and adopting a legal act that approves the specific content, spatial and time limits of the border-control regulations, groups of people who fall under one or another regulation;
2) approving control operations flow at checkpoints across the State Border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
3) developing and approving a legal act defining the procedure for attracting citizens to the protection of the State Border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic on a voluntary basis as part of civic associations, voluntary people’s teams or as non-staff workers of border authorities;
4) managing of the State Border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
5) construction, repair, reconstruction and improvement of territories, buildings, premises and facilities used in the protection of the State Border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
6) completing the checkpoints with computer equipment and technical means of border control;
7) installing passport control units in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
8) installing video surveillance systems in the control offices and monitoring of the current situation at the checkpoints;
9) increasing the level of professional and ethical culture of state security officers who carry out passport control at checkpoints across the State Border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
10) improving maintenance and repair of equipment.
2.3.3. Law enforcement activities
In order to further improve arrangement of work and enhance efficiency of operational activities of the bodies and departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the efforts of the Ministry in 2019-2026 should be focused on implementation of the following priorities:
a) ensuring personal safety of human beings, protection of property, ensuring public order, fight against crime;
b) improving human resources management and their professional training;
c) developing and strengthening logistics base of the internal affairs bodies of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
d) increasing confidence of citizens in the internal affairs bodies, demonstrating the openness of militia activities;
e) improving the organizational framework for the prevention of offenses;
f) increasing efficiency in the field of road safety, fire safety and in cases of emergency;
g) fight against corruption.
In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to use the following mechanisms:
a) to ensure personal safety of human beings, to protect their property, to ensure public order, to combat crime:
1) developing and adopting the concept of public order and security of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic for the period up to 2026;
2) developing and adopting the new law of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic “On Militia”;
3) developing and adopting a law on fundamentals of the crime prevention system in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
4) developing a new ministerial regulatory enactment “Regulations on serving in the internal affairs bodies of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic”;
5) creating motivational and stimulating environment for participation of citizens of the Republic in the activities of voluntary people’s patrol;
6) improving the mechanism of encouraging citizens for active citizenship and cooperation with law enforcement bodies in prevention, detection and suppression of unlawful acts;
7) developing the “Safe City” video system in the localities of the Republic in order to prevent, suppress and disclose wrongful acts;
b) to improve human resources management and training:
1) improving the efficiency of career guidance, the system of selection, placement and movement of personnel;
2) improving the work of educational institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with a view to increasing their professional development and creating a single multi-level system of professional training and retraining of personnel, in terms of shortage of personnel in the internal affairs bodies;
3) complete involvement of internal affairs officers in post-graduate training and professional development courses;
c) to develop and strengthen the logistics base of the internal affairs bodies of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic:
1) developing and introducing software products for recognizing faces and car number plates in the “Safe City” system;
2) equipping service vehicles with the GPS system to improve the efficiency of interaction between units during service and to reduce the response time to incidents and crimes;
3) acquiring vehicles, special equipment and other property necessary for activities of internal affairs bodies;
d) to increase the confidence of citizens in the internal affairs bodies, to demonstrate openness of the militia activities:
1) increasing the level of citizens’ satisfaction with activities of the internal affairs bodies should be supported by the results and indicators following the study of citizens’ opinions about personal safety and the activities of the internal affairs bodies based on independent sources of information (sociological surveys and media monitoring);
2) increasing the level of professional and ethical culture of staff of internal affairs bodies;
3) developing an electronic information exchange system in the field of migration policy, registration accounting and certification between departments and divisions subordinated to the Ministry of the Internal Affairs of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, as well as other public authorities;
e) to improve the institutional framework for prevention of violations, to increase efficiency in the field of road safety, fire safety and in cases of emergency:
1) conducting twice a year a comprehensive survey of the condition of the entire road-street network of the Republic;
2) preparing in 2019 the legislative framework in terms of introduction of a ballistic system of punishments for road traffic offenses;
3) developing and implementing in 2019 special, including educational, programs for the public in order to form stereotypes of safe behavior on streets and roads;
4) expanding work on the automatic monitoring of compliance with traffic rules by road users within the Safe City system in terms of placement of special photo and video equipment operating in automatic mode;
5) developing and approving the Development Concept of civil defense of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic for the period up to 2026;
6) developing and adopting the law of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic “On Emergency Rescue Services and the Status of Rescuers”;
e) to fight corruption:
1) developing and approving the Counter-Corruption Concept in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
2) developing and approving a nationwide anti-corruption plan for 2019–2026;
3) developing and implementing in law enforcement bodies of specific measures aimed at preventing and counteracting corruption, including development and implementation of relevant regulatory documents and teaching materials.
2.3.4. National policy in the field of justice and legal proceedings
In order to improve work management and increase efficiency of law enforcement units of the Ministry of Justice of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (the State Service for the Execution of Punishments, the State Judicial Enforcement Service), the following objectives are set as priorities:
a) ensuring social justice in terms of restoring the rights and freedoms of citizens, as well as the legitimate interests of organizations violated by criminal acts, as well as by other wrongful acts;
b) improving the system of execution of criminal penalties in terms of correcting convicts and preventing them or other persons from committing new crimes;
c) increasing promptness and efficiency of the execution of decisions of courts and other authorized bodies;
d) strengthening and developing the logistics base of law enforcement units of the Ministry of Justice of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
e) increasing the level of professional training and the overall efficiency of human resources management in the judiciary.
To perform the above tasks, it is necessary to ensure implementation of the following mechanisms:
a) to improve the legislation in the field of execution of penalties and enforcement of court decisions in the following areas:
1) improving the efficiency and strengthening the parole mechanism for convicts, including through introduction of appropriate amendments to the legislation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
2) changing the order and methods of enforcement proceedings, processing of personal data, and introducing full-fledged electronic document management;
b) to improve the conditions of detention of convicts and detainees, to optimize the achievement of the goals of punishment:
1) creating new jobs in order to increase the number of convicts engaged in labor activity in the first priority order at the enterprises of the penitentiary system, subsidiary farms at institutions in which these persons serve punishment;
2) expanding areas of special vocational education provided to persons sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary institutions for them to exercise the right to education;
3) improving the quality of medical care for convicts, including participation in the implementation of state targeted programs to combat HIV infection and tuberculosis;
4) construction of a stationary tuberculosis building to prevent the spread of the disease among convicts, as well as among the population of the Republic after their release;
5) full participation and strict compliance with the law by the administrations of the penitentiary system institutions in implementation of the release on parole, the analysis of best practices and preparation of proposals for improving this institution;
c) to improve the logistics base:
1) building an effective management system and organizing the activities of enterprises in the field of justice, ensuring the break-even of their operation, as well as developing the social sphere of the penitentiary facilities;
2) introducing modern technical and special means in the institutions for the execution of sentences and court decisions;
3) attracting funds from the Capital Investment Fund during capital repairs of facilities of the State Judicial Enforcement Service of the Ministry of Justice of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, institutions of the penal correction system, construction of a stationary tuberculosis unit at a penitentiary facility;
d) to improve the institute of judicial enforcement agents, the procedures of executing:
1) expanding the competence of judicial enforcement agents in the course of compulsory execution of judicial acts and acts of other bodies in terms of the exercise of authority to force persons evading from appearing in court or from coming to an enforcement agent, to search for debtors, interact with security ministries as regards escorting, guarding detainees, their participation in enforcement actions;
2) creating an electronic database “Data bank in the enforcement proceedings” in order to optimize the process of enforcement proceedings, transparency of the enforcement process, as well as organization of electronic interagency cooperation between the public authorities in order to obtain information about the debtors, their property, requests of enforcement agents in electronic form;
e) to develop and strength the human resources:
1) carrying out career guidance, changing the approach to the selection, placement and redeployment of staff, toughening the requirements for moralities of candidates for service and law enforcement officers of the Ministry of Justice of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
2) creating in higher education institutions the specialized training groups in the field of the penitentiary system, as well as enforcement proceedings;
3) complete involvement of staff of the State Penitentiary Service and the State Judicial Enforcement Service of the Ministry of Justice of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic in post-graduate training and professional development courses;
The main objective of the judicial system of Pridnestrovie is to protect the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and citizen, civic associations, the constitutional system of the Republic, state and public interests, the rights of legal entities, regardless of ownership.
Objectives of developing the judicial system should be aimed at preservation of the following guarantees:
a) independence of the courts;
b) non-interference in the activities of judges in the administration of justice;
c) inviolability of the judges;
d) openness of court proceedings on the basis of contestation and equality of rights between the parties in the process;
e) compliance by all courts with the Constitution and Laws of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the principles and standards of international law;
f) reduction of time for preparation and consideration of cases.
To achieve the above objectives, the following mechanisms must be implemented:
a) developing the interaction of judicial authorities with law enforcement bodies in terms of ensuring inviolability and independence of judges from any form of external pressure – corruption, administrative, criminal;
b) improving the qualification and professional level of judges and court workers;
c) adopting a responsible and respectful attitude of the staff of the judicial system to the citizens and laws of the Republic in compliance with moral and ethical standards;
d) improving the logistics base of the courts and the use of modern information technologies in judicial activities in order to create conditions for providing access to information about the activities of the courts.
2.3.5. Foreign economic security
The main goal of the state policy in foreign economic activity is creation of conditions ensuring the state security of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic in the sphere of foreign trade.
Tasks to achieve this goal are:
a) control over the legality of transportation across the customs border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic of goods and objects prohibited and (or) restricted to circulation on the territory of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
b) protection of the domestic market from unfair foreign competition in conjunction with measures to increase national exports and the support of domestic producers;
c) liberalization in the sphere of foreign trade of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
Mechanisms for implementation of these tasks:
a) improving the regulatory framework of the customs legislation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
b) monitoring the legality of movement of goods across the customs border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which is planned to be ensured through implementation of the following measures:
1) increase in the efficiency of revealing facts of violation of customs legislation, causing damage to the economic security of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
2) provision of the customs authorities of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic with modern technical means of customs control in order to identify goods, narcotic drugs, weapons, cultural values that are illegally transferred across the customs border of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
3) use of existing and introduction of new software and hardware to ensure information security;
4) intensification of operational activities in terms of identifying “gray” import and export schemes carried out by citizens of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and legal entities in cooperation with representatives of other states, including law enforcement agencies of foreign states;
5) development of hardware and software systems for video monitoring of the situation at the border, identification of national vehicle license plates;
c) the policy of protecting the domestic market in conjunction with measures to increase national exports and the support of domestic producers is planned to be pursued through implementation of the following measures:
1) carrying out work in order to provide preferences for goods produced in Pridnestrovie and exported to Russia and the EEU countries;
2) minimizing barriers (tariff and non-tariff) in the mutual supply of goods (zero import customs duties and import VAT both on the territory of Russia for Pridnestrovian exports and on the territory of Pridnestrovie for Russian exports);
3) introducing a full-fledged electronic declaration of exported goods by 2021 with the aim of creating the most favorable conditions for foreign trade for the economic agents of the Republic;
4) improving the “national enterprise” institution;
d) liberalization in the sphere of foreign trade of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which is planned to be ensured through implementation of the following measures:
1) continuing comprehensive work on improvement of existing customs procedures, their facilitation and simplification, taking into account international practices and standards in order to improve the business climate and at the same time ensure the economic security of the State;
2) reducing duplicating functions of state administration, control and law enforcement bodies;
3) eliminating administrative barriers in the customs sphere;
4) active involvement of business entities and entrepreneurial associations in the discussion of draft regulations in the customs sphere at the stage of their development;
5) creating in 2019 the information-analytical component of the legal work in order to ensure access to and understanding of laws of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
6) constructing a geographically distributed main data processing center by 2022 with information technologies to ensure centralization of the applications used;
7) developing communication with the customs services of other countries on the provision of information in the field of foreign trade;
8) improving activities of the Public Advisory Council on Customs Policy as an effective system of interaction with participants in foreign trade;
9) expanding and improving the online consultation system for citizens and participants in foreign trade;
10) introducing technology of automatic decision-making (without the participation of customs officials) on the release of goods in the submission of the customs declaration and documents confirming the declared information, in the form of electronic documents, by 2023;
11) extending a risk management system in order to increase the efficiency of customs control and at the same time facilitate customs procedures by 2026.
2.4. National information policy
The national information policy (hereinafter referred to as the NIP) is a set of objectives reflecting the national interests of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic in the information sphere, the strategic areas of their achievement (tasks) and the system of implementing measures.
The long-term strategic objective of the NIP is to ensure the transition to a new stage in the Pridnestrovie’s development – building a democratic information society and bringing the country into the global information community.
The basis of this transition is creation of a unified information-telecommunication space of the country as the basis for solving the tasks of the socio-economic, political and cultural development of the country and security tasks.
The main tasks of the NIP are:
a) modernizing the information and telecommunications infrastructure;
b) developing the information and telecommunication technologies;
c) effective formation and use of national information resources (IR) and provision of a broad, free access to them;
d) providing citizens with information of public importance and developing independent mass media;
e) preparing a person for life and work taking into account rapidly developing information technologies;
f) creating the necessary regulatory framework for building an information society.
Ways and mechanisms to accomplish the tasks set by the NIP:
a) creating conditions for the dissemination of timely, reliable, complete, comprehensive information about political, socio-economic and other events, phenomena and processes taking place both in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and in the world;
b) forming a system of measures to ensure the constitutional rights of citizens to timely receipt of reliable information;
c) improving the legislative framework that provides freedom of thought and speech, political and ideological pluralism, independence of the media as integral elements of a democratic society;
d) creating conditions to ensure free access of citizens to legal, scientific, technical, socio-economic, social, political and other information;
e) protecting the constitutional rights of citizens to preserve personal secrets and confidentiality of personal data available in information systems, as well as during the work of media journalists;
f) using existing and creating new information resources to increase business activity and level of information literacy of the population of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
g) ensuring effective feedback of the population of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic with the state and local authorities;
h) ensuring political and ideological pluralism, freedom of thought and speech, independence of the media;
i) involving 100 percent of State-owned media staff in postgraduate training and professional development courses;
j) increasing financial support and material incentives for State-owned media workers;
k) creating a favorable image of the Republic to attract investment in the economy and social sphere;
l) shaping a positive image of an entrepreneur and worker (in various sectors of the economy and the social sphere), as well as informational support through the media and promotion of entrepreneurship as one of the most important factors in the economic development and stabilization of Pridnestrovian society;
m) developing and implementing modern information and telecommunication technologies;
n) creating conditions for an integrated, program-targeted development of the information space of the Republic as an entire system;
o) assisting in the coverage of events and areas of state policy conducted by public authorities;
p) assisting in the coverage of the main areas of domestic and foreign policy of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
q) ensuring effective public awareness of the activities of public authorities of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
r) ensuring public awareness of the achievements in the spheres of education, sports and culture of the Republic and the priority of expert information in covering the problems and achievements in the spheres of education, sports and culture of the Republic;
s) effective control over the use of information resources of governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as citizens;
t) creating a system of relationships between information-related actors based on the law and universal moral standards and generally accepted rules of professional ethics;
u) protecting the interests of the state mass media market and promoting development of municipal and ministerial media;
v) ensuring free access of mass media to official information of public authorities;
w) developing legal, economic and organizational measures at the state level, which ensure the balance of interests of an individual, society and the state in the activities of mass media;
x) harmonizing the legal and methodological framework governing the informatization process and the unity of technical and informative requirements for development and use of public information systems and resources;
y) providing information to the population of the Republic on the results of activities by the Republic’s leadership with a comparative analysis for previous years;
z) supporting and developing sports, promoting healthy lifestyle in the mass media;
a1) media supporting of the policy of preserving the cultural heritage of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic;
b1) taking into account information security requirements when developing an information policy strategy and implementing all its activities.
The effective implementation of the NIP depends on its complex, system-based implementation, as well as openness and consideration of the interests of citizens, society and the state as a whole.
3. ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY
3.1. Main areas of state regulation of the economy
3.1.1. Policy in the field of state management of the economy
Reforming the public administration system is one of the most important conditions for accelerating socio-economic development of the country; therefore, one of the strategic goals of the administrative reform launched in 2018 is to limit government intervention in the economic activities of business entities, including the cessation of excessive government regulation.
This strategic goal is planned to be achieved through following reforms:
a) increasing efficiency of activities of organizations and institutions subordinated to the executive bodies of state power.
For this purpose it is necessary to carry out a set of related activities:
1) to analyze the activities of organizations and institutions subordinated to the executive bodies of state power for compliance with the key functions of the state;
2) to make management decisions based on the analysis of activities of organizations and institutions subordinated to the executive bodies of state power;
b) improving control and supervisory activities.
For this purpose it is necessary:
1) to develop a Concept for the improvement of control and supervisory activities;
2) to optimize the control and supervisory activities, licensing of certain types of activities, the licensing system in the economic sphere, the state registration, accreditation, state expert examinations and other forms of state administrative regulation;
3) to improve the regulatory framework in the field of control and supervisory activities.
3.1.2. Budget policy
The key parameters of the effective implementation of the budget policy of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic are:
a) amount of financial resources that are actually redistributed through the budget system;
b) level of tax pressure planned by the authorities;
c) degree of practicability of laws about the budget that is prepared and approved;
d) level of imbalance of the state budget, the extent and instruments of its financing;
e) quality of public debt management;
f) ability of the authorities to promptly make adjustments to implementation of the budget policy.
The main goal of planning in the budget process is to draw up an action plan and draft possible solutions for the most economical, productive and efficient use of budget funds in the next fiscal year.
An effective fiscal policy is an essential for the economy to adapt to modern realities. It involves intertwined macro-economic and structural prerequisites for ensuring sustainable economic growth and improving the well-being of citizens. The combination of flexibility and sustainability of the budget system is a daunting challenge, especially in a crisis.
In the conditions of limited financial resources, an important rule is that it is necessary to choose the most correct areas of spending budgetary funds in order to achieve the necessary level of efficiency of budgetary policy implementation in the long-term period.
The implementation of such a budget strategy of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic over the long term will make it possible to evaluate the areas of the budget policy with the achieved indicators of balance and stability of the budgetary system of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
In the long term, it is necessary to adhere to a relatively vigilant budgetary policy providing for implementation of the following measures and mechanisms for the above objectives:
a) developing and adopting the new law of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic “On the Budget System in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic”, corresponding to the modern realities of the budget process;
b) pursuing a policy of an objective and balanced increase in budget expenditures;
c) striving for 100% provision of budget expenditures (including their growth) with real sources of financing;
d) changing the structure of expenditures towards a greater share of capital investments;
e) analyzing state expenditures in terms of redistribution of resources within the budget system to ensure comparison, identify imbalances, develop recommendations on possible ways to reform;
f) assessing the existing balance between the amount of allocated financing in the context of the functional and economic classification and the size of the gross domestic product created in the country;
g) developing and implementing modern information technologies, which allow to maximally automate and facilitate the system of forecasting and analytical studies, to increase the reliability and efficiency of obtaining reported data;
h) improving the efficiency of career guidance, the system of selection, placement and movement of staff.
3.1.3. Tax policy
In the absence of fiscal space (about 90 percent of budget expenditures goes to the fulfillment of social obligations), there is currently no real possibility of fiscal adjustment.
Thus, the priority task is to form and maintain fair approaches to the distribution of the tax burden in various sectors of the economy.
Approaches to tax administration must be improved. It is necessary to act in two directions at once: on the one hand, to change the philosophy of the work of the tax authorities themselves, on the other, to review approaches to conducting monitoring activities and a list of grounds for conducting inspections. Along with measures to directly reduce the tax burden on economic operators, this will contribute to the development of the economic potential of the state.
In order to improve the efficiency of the tax authorities and to develop the tax administration system, one must address the following priority tasks:
a) to improve the system of tax administration and tax control;
b) to develop the informatization and introduce modern software products in tax authorities;
c) to increase the confidence of entrepreneurs and citizens in the work of tax authorities, to strengthen the role of tax consulting;
d) to deve
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