30-35% of the content of the new Government’s economic recovery and stabilization program for 2009-2011 were taken from the previous government’s program, while 60-65% of the planned measures are aimed at increasing revenues and reducing expenditure. This will affect the people’s welfare, the Communist opposition considers. The program was analyzed by Communist MPs at a news conference on Friday. The MPs said they do not criticize the document, but give details only, Info-Prim Neo reports. “This document is designed to meet the demands of the foreign financial organization. A large part of the program coincides with the IMF’s program,” said Igor Dodon, former minister of economy and trade. The Communist MP considers that it is not an anti-crisis program, but a plan to optimize the state budget. “They talked a lot about the de-monopolization of the import of meat and fish, but this program contains no related measures. The present Government did not annul the decisions of the previous one. This shows that those mechanisms were indeed beneficial to the national producers,” Dodon said. Another Communist MP, Galina Balmoş, the former minister of social protection, said the economic recovery program contains controversial approaches in such areas as education, healthcare and social assistance. Under the program, the number of awards in universities will be reduced by 20%, the dormitory fees will be raised, while the district schools will be closed, the MP said. According to Oleg Reidman, who had been adviser on economic issues to former President Vladimir Voronin, the program says nothing about the projected results. “It is a plan for survival. It does not aim to increase the purchasing power of the population,” he said. The Communist MPs also said that the program was approved in non-transparent conditions as it was not debated in the Parliament. The economic recovery and stabilization program for 2009-2011 was approved by the Government on November 18. According to Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar, the program will be implemented at a cost of 10 billion lei. The program focuses on three major pillars: stabilization and optimization of public funds; economic recovery; guaranteeing of efficient social protection for the vulnerable groups of people in the crisis period. The Government decided that the responsible organizations will render reports on the implementation of the program every three months. The program is accompanied by a communication strategy.