The fact that a state borrows money from the national banks shows the Government is in a difficult situation and the banks cannot find investment projects that would generate profit adjusted to a higher risk than the one posed by the Government, businessman Vadim Brînzan who settled in the U.S., a former candidate for the post of governor of the National Bank of Moldova. According to him, Moldova’s budget deficit during the past few months exceeded 2 billion lei. “Until last December, the budget was implemented exactly, but in December the budget deficit was of over 1 billion lei. This February the deficit was of about 800 million lei, while in March of approximately 400 million lei,” stated Vadim Brînzan. He noted this happens because the allocations from the social budget, the salary fund increased and half of the citizens work for state institutions.

The revenues of the national public budget in January – April rose by 6.3% or 732.7 million lei compared with the corresponding period last year to 12.4 billion lei, the State Tax Service said.

“The salaries will be paid on time and will be higher. We always work to identity sources for raising them,” Minister of Education, Culture and Research Monica Babuc stated in response to politician Maia Sandu’s assertion that the current government ordered to increase the salaries of teachers of universities, centers of excellence and vocational education institutions, but didn’t allocate money for the raises to be possible.

The freedom of the media continues to worsen to alarming proportions and the problems identified during the past year have intensified. The journalistic guild became more divided. The de facto media concentration is more visible, as is the political control over some of the media outlets. Consequently, the pluralism of opinion declines, says a Memo on the freedom of the media in the Republic of Moldova for May 3, 2018 – May 3, 2019 that was presented in a news conference at IPN on May 3, when World Press Freedom Day is celebrated. “I want to also refer to the quality of the mass media that continues to worsen. There is a connection between the quality of the media products and media concentration. The media outlets that are owned by politicians or persons affiliated to the political class are used by the owners to promote their agenda, to  manipulate and misinform. In the election campaigns, we saw how they were used as electoral agents and propaganda instruments. When we speak about manipulation and misinformation, we cannot speak about the high quality of the information that reaches the people,” noted Independent Journalism Center director Nadine Gogu.

“The quality of democratic processes is linked to the state of freedom of expression as well as media freedom and pluralism. There is no democracy without a truly free press,” says the Declaration issued by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on behalf of the European Union on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day. “Disinformation has a high potential to negatively influence democratic processes and public debates all over the world, and the European Union makes no exception.”

An “Enemies of the Press” billboard has been posted outside Parliament to mark the World Press Freedom Day. With a selection compiled by the Independent Press Association, the hoarding shames parties and lawmakers for verbal or physical aggression, for obstruction of access to information, and for intolerance towards journalists. The Shor Party in its entirety, as well as its leaders Ilan Shor and Marina Tauber, together with Socialist Oleg Savva are shamed on the billboard for instances of verbal or physical aggression against reporters. The Shor Party is named again, alongside the Democratic Party and Democrat lawmaker Vladimir Andronache, as stonewallers. The ex-Speaker Andrian Candu, and ACUM’s Maria Ciobanu and Andrei Năstase are on the board for intolerant fits directed at journalists.

A military-religious ceremony was held at the Cemetery of Heroes of the Romanian Army in Stoicani village of Soroca district on the occasion of the War Veterans Day that is annually marked in Romania on May 29. The event was staged to express gratitude to those who fought to defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania in World War II. Romania’s Ambassador to Moldova Daniel Ioniță said the Romanian soldiers contributed by their sacrifice to the current peaceful life and they should be honored appropriately.

The right to get an allowance for temporary incapacity for work in case of ordinary diseases, accidents not related to work, caring for a child, quarantine or orthopedic prosthesing will be decided by the employer for the first five calendar days of temporary incapacity for work and will be provided from the financial resources of the employer, but for at most 15 calendar days cumulatively, IPN reports, making reference to an amendment to the relevant regulations proposed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection.

Details on IPN!