Expert-Grup

Consumer protection enters the digital era: AGE and Expert-Grup launched, at Moldova Digital Summit 2025, a joint initiative to modernise and simplify the petitioning process for consumers

Friday, 6 June 20251750 views
Consumer protection enters the digital era: AGE and Expert-Grup launched, at Moldova Digital Summit 2025, a joint initiative to modernise and simplify the petitioning process for consumers

At Moldova Digital Summit 2025, held on 5-7 June, the e-Democrație platform is being officially launched, a digital tool that will help strengthen citizens’ participation in decision-making and facilitate direct communication with public authorities. By the end of the year, the platform will include a module dedicated to consumers, which will allow petitions to be submitted in a simplified way to all institutions responsible for consumer protection.

On this occasion, the Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup”, in partnership with the Electronic Governance Agency (AGE), organised the thematic workshop “Synergising public institutions to improve consumer protection through the e-Democrație platform”. The event brought together almost 40 participants – representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalisation, the Delegation of the European Union, the State Inspectorate for Consumer Protection, ECC Moldova, and central public authorities with competences in the field, alongside IT specialists, academics and civil society organisations.

The discussions at the workshop focused on:

  • the difficulties consumers face in the current petitioning process;

  • the challenges authorities encounter in receiving, processing and effectively resolving petitions;

  • how the e-Democrație platform will function as a single point of contact, facilitating the submission of petitions;

  • alignment with European standards in the field of consumer protection;

  • and, last but not least, the needs of the authorities that are to be met through the new digital functionalities.

The event was moderated by Vitalie Rapcea, Programme Director at Expert-Grup and manager of the project “Strengthening the consumer protection framework in the Republic of Moldova”, and the session presented the platform’s current functionalities and development prospects.

Andrei Prisăcar, Deputy Director of AGE, emphasised: “The e-Democrație platform represents a new standard of participatory governance, allowing citizens to interact with state institutions directly, efficiently, faster and more securely.”

The partnership between AGE and Expert-Grup was formalised through the signing of a Cooperation Agreement, which aims at:

  • the complete digitalisation of the petitioning process in the field of consumer protection;

  • the integration of these functionalities into the EVO application;

  • strengthening institutional capacities in the use of digital tools;

  • the development of an automated reporting system for relevant analyses and statistics.

Adrian Lupușor, Executive Director of Expert-Grup, stated: “We can say that the platform is an upgrade to democracy, to what it means for citizens and for the state. The field of consumer protection and petitioning tailored to consumers’ interests will be a continuation of this important project. The platform is a promising product and a very complex exercise. We will team up with all the necessary institutions to see this project through, since we are all consumers and we are all interested in the platform working well.”

About the eDemocrație platform

Launched in pilot mode, the platform edemocratie.gov.md already makes it possible to submit petitions and consult public initiatives online, without paperwork or unnecessary trips. In the first two days of the summit, over 400 citizens expressed their opinion through the surveys available on the platform.

Other authorities will be connected gradually. In addition, any public institution can request to be connected through the online form available on the platform.

The event can be watched here:

The project “Strengthening the consumer protection framework in the Republic of Moldova” is implemented by the Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” as consortium leader, in partnership with the Institute for European Policies and Reforms, and funded by the European Union and the Soros Foundation Moldova.

View the original article in Romanian