National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Moldova

In the decision-making process, the Agency shall conduct public consultations on its draft normative acts, deemed to have a significant impact on the electronic communications and information technology market. The stages of the decision-making process are established in the “Rules for development, approval of normative acts, of individual, recommendable character and for ensuring transparency in the decision-making process by the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology” (hereinafter Rules), approved by ANRCETI Administrative Board Decision (doc. in state language) no.12 of 09.04.2010. This normative act was adopted with the view of enforcing the provisions of the Law on Transparency in Decision-Making Process no. 239-XVI/13.11.2008 and recommendations of the Government Decree no. 967 of 09.08.2016.

I. Priorly to the development of a draft normative act, the Agency makes the preliminary analysis of the regulatory impact (AIR) that justifies the Agency’s intervention through regulation. The preliminary AIR text is subject to public consultations after a substantiated decision of ANRCETI Administrative Board regarding the initiation of the due regulatory process. The consultation is conducted according to the procedure set forth in Section III of the Rules. The public consultations on preliminary AIR being over, the Agency publishes on its Internet page the recommendations forwarded by the interested parties, in the original, the synthesis of all the recommendations except the cases where the author of the recommendations requests otherwise, as well as the opinion of the Agency with regards to the recommendations. The preliminary AIR, with attached synthesis of recommendations are submitted by the Agency for revision and approval to the Working Group of the State Commission for regulating entrepreneurial activity and subsequently approved by this Commission. The development of the draft normative act is started upon approval of AIR by the state Commission and in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Normative Acts of the Government and other central and local public administration authorities no.317-XV/18.07.2003 and the Rules.

II. The draft normative act is subject to public consultation procedure, being placed on the Agency website, together with an announcement regarding the upcoming consultations, at least 15 days before review by the Agency Administrative Board. The announcement is accompanied by a note that describes the structure and contents of the document and justifies its need. It states the deadline, where and how the stakeholders can access the document and can send well-grounded recommendations, contact details of the author or of the person in charge of receiving and reviewing the recommendations.

The announcement is made publicly available on the website of the Agency, sent, as appropriate, to media representatives, interested persons who requested that their email address be registered on the special mailing list of the Agency, put up at the Agency’s office in a publicly accessible space and / or broadcast in mass-media, where appropriate.

The term allowed for sending recommendations on the draft document under public consultation is 15 days from the date the document is published on the Agency Webpage, its extension being possible, in appropriate cases.

Any interested person may file duly justified recommendations on the draft document open to public consultation, in writing, by mail at: 134, Stefan cel Mare bd. MD-2012, by fax (373 22) 222 885, by e-mail: consultare@anrceti.md or to the e-mail address provided in the explanatory note or directly to the Agency.

If necessary, the author, with the consent of the Agency Administrative Board, may hold informal consultation meetings in order to clarify the existing problems and reduce the number of issues giving rise to divergences with regards to certain provisions of the document under consultation. Where appropriate, the author of the draft document may request the opinion of interested parties and/or experts, establish permanent and/or ad hoc working groups and conduct surveys.

The author of the document develops a synthesis of recommendations, which is published on the website of the Agency. The synthesis includes all the recommendations except those for which their author requested otherwise and also the opinion of the Agency regarding the recommendations. Where the interested parties failed to submit the substantiated recommendations before the deadline for public consultation, the draft normative act is deemed to have been publicly consulted without recommendations.

III. After completing the consultation through the Internet site, the Agency may organize public debates / hearings on the draft. The announcement about the debates / hearings is published on the Agency website at least three days before the date scheduled. The announcement includes the agenda, the proposed normative act, the recommendations provided by stakeholders in the original and the synthesis of recommendations submitted through the Agency Web page.

The discussions on the draft normative act are recorded and reflected in the minutes of the meeting, whereas those duly justified, proposed during the meeting, are included in the synthesis of recommendations, unless their author requests otherwise. The Agency decision is recorded as well.

Where essential modifications are made to the original version of the draft normative act subject to public debates / hearings (changing the concept, extending the object and scope, the impact of regulatory change), the Agency may organize repeated consultations, in accordance with the procedure described by the Rules.

IV. The legislative act subject to public consultation is approved in a public session of the Administrative Board of the Agency, upon approval of the final regulatory impact analysis and document itself by the State Commission for Regulating Entrepreneurial Activity.

The announcement about the meeting for the approval of the normative document is published on the website of the Agency at least three days before the date fixed for the meeting. The announcement is accompanied by the completed draft normative act, the summary of recommendations and the opinion of the State Commission mentioned above. The notice is sent, if appropriate, to media representatives, interested persons who requested their electronic mail address be included in the mailing list of the Agency, specifically compiled for that purpose, displayed at the Agency office in an area accessible to the public.

The normative act is approved by the majority of Agency Board members. Where the Board proposes duly justified changes and amendments of editorial nature, the document is duly modified, approved repeatedly by the author and by the Legal Service of the Agency, subsequently being signed by Board members. Proposals of conceptual nature are placed for public consultation under the Rules.

The normative act approved by the Administrative Board of the Agency is subject to legal expertise and state registration by the Ministry of Justice, published in the Official Gazette and placed on the Agency website.

V. Transparency in the development and approval of normative acts and of the Administrative Board meetings is ensured by the coordinator of the public consultation process designated by order of the Agency Director. The coordinator monitors compliance with the stages of consultation and adoption of normative acts, compiles the mailing list of stakeholders to be informed under priority about the decision-making process, as well as the annual report on transparency of decision-making process within the Agency.

The annual report is made publicly available on the Agency Web page not later than the end of I quarter of the year following the one of reference. The Agency reports on transparency of decision making process are placed in the division "Reports on Decision-Making Process" of the Agency's Web page.