● MONDAY, April 6
Transnistria’s largest textiles producer stops work
The largest textiles producer of the Transnistrian region Tirotex no longer works. The company’s vice director Pavel Solodskii stated for the local TV channel TSV that almost all the employees were laid off. Tirotex director Andrei Mejinski said the decision was taken following the huge losses sustained. In 2014, these came to US$14 million, while in the first quarter of this year to over US$3.5 million. Last year the company’s exports to Russia decreased two times, while to Ukraine – by 80%. Tirotex employed about 1,500 persons and was the largest taxpayer in Tiraspol town. The local authorities anticipate the salaries of budget-funded employees from Tiraspol will now decrease.
Representatives of taxpayers weren’t consulted before approving budgets, NECM
The National Employers Confederation of Moldova (NECM) said the Government didn’t consult the social partners before approving the three very important budgets for the business sector and for employees – the state budget, the state social insurance budget and the state health insurance budget. According to the Confederation, this way the government showed that they do not care about the opinions of civil society. In a news conference at NECM chairman Leonid Cerescu said the absence of consultations over the three budgets is another proof that the government does not take into account the opinions of the representatives of taxpayers. At end-February, the Confederation staged a roundtable meeting that centered on the effects of the fluctuations on the currency market and the government avoided this event.
Company faces fine for selling fuel without license
An economic entity faces a fine of 10,000 lei for retailing gasoline and diesel fuel without having a relevant license. The National Agency for Energy Regulation remitted the related documents to court. According to the Agency, the offense was discovered during an unplanned inspection at a filling station of the given company on March 24. The economic entity risks being fined also by the fiscal body, which can impose a fine equal to the gross revenues earned from selling gasoline and diesel fuel without a license on it.
Without IMF assistance, it will be hard to fill budget gaps, economist
Without assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donors associated with it, it will be hard to cover the gaps in the budget given that the forecasts concerning the financing of the budget are rather gloomy, said economist Iurie Morcotylo, of the independent think tank “Expert Grup”. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Iurie Morcotylo said 2014 showed that we can exist without the IMF’s money, but we should take into account the fact that 2014 was a rather good one, with economic growth and with higher remittances, with a normal state debt and with no problems with the banks. If an IMF mission comes to Moldova, it will first of all ask for accurate figures and mechanisms of financing and for a plan of action on the part of the Government for remedying the situation in the financial-banking sector. Without such detailed information, the negotiations will be practically blocked
Premier and employers plead for open dialogue
Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici had a meeting with representatives of the National Employers Confederation of Moldova (NECM). The sides pleaded for strengthening the relations between the Government and the Confederation, observing the legislation on decisional transparency and involving the employers in the process of drafting legislative and normative documents that are economic and social in nature. The executive’s press service said the representatives of the NECM recommended that the draft legislative and normative documents that are examined and approved by the Government should be first endorsed by the state commission for regulating entrepreneurial activity.
● TUESDAY, April 7
Carriers Union: Authorities do not want to increase fares before elections
The interurban passenger transport fares were to be increased by 0.10 lei from April 1, but this didn’t happen following a decision issued by the Supreme Court of Justice. Dumitru Albulesa, executive director of the Union of Carriers and Road Workers, has told that the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure didn’t accept the rise, arguing the time is now not appropriate and this issue will be examined again after the local general elections. According to Dumitru Albulesa, the Ministry’s administration said this is a matter of social interest and the rise in fares will not take place now. The Union of Carriers and Road Workers does not agree with the Ministry’s arguments and will thus sue the decision makers of this institution.
Fiscal approach will be the same for all education institutions
The revenues earned by the education institutions in the teaching process will be exempted from income tax.The fiscal approach will be the same for all the education institutions, both public and private. The incomes that are not related to the education process will be taxed in the same way as the incomes of other economic entities with similar activities. This refers to incomes from leasing out areas, from providing production activities, calculation and other services.
TOP-5 currencies in post-Soviet area: which was the least affected
The economic crisis in Eastern Europe avoided none of the former Soviet republics. The five international currencies with the poorest results this year are the currencies of the former Soviet republics, says an article on “Корреспондент.net”. The journalists of this publication tried to find out why the currencies of the countries from Eastern Europe have depreciated. Thus, champions by the level of depreciation are:Ukrainian hrivna– 51%; Russian ruble – 37%; Belarusian ruble – 34%; Azeri manat – 26%; Moldovan leu – 25%. According to the publication, the reasons for the sudden depreciation of the currencies of these countries are different, but there are a number of common causes. According to Vasili Yurchishin, economic problems director at the Center “Razumkov”, among the common reasons are the low competitiveness of the economies of the former Soviet republics, their dependence on narrow markets, the keeping of the planned economy system and their increased dependence on Russia’s economy.
● WEDNESDAY, April 8
Stimuli to modernize aircraft and rolling stock
The aircraft, helicopters, engines and trains involved in public passenger transportation services and the operational or financial leasing services will be exempted from VAT and customs duties. Minister of Finance Anatol Arapu said the exemption from VAT will create more favorable conditions for the national economic entities and will contribute to increasing their competitiveness on the international market. Many of the units of transport are very old and the processes of modernizing the aircraft and rolling stock are stagnant. One of the reasons is the mandatory import duties.
Farmers will block national roads on April 15
A number of farmers associations announced that they will block the national roads for an hour on April 15 in protest at the authorities’ inaction in dealing with the problems faced in the agricultural sector. The decision was taken in a meeting of the administration broads of the National Farmers Federation, the National Union of Agricultural Producers Associations “UniAgroProtect”, the Association of Fruit Producers and Exporters “Moldova-Fruct” and the National Federation of Agricultural Producers of Moldova “Agroinform”. In a news conference on April 8, members of the boards said that even if the authorities recognize the relevance and objectivity of farmers’ demands, they show lack of responsibility and competence.
Decline in remittances can cause new pressure on exchange rate of leu, opinion
The volume of remittances sent to Moldova from abroad in the first four months of this year has decreased. As the cash transfers are directly connected with Moldova’s currency market, the supply of foreign currency will be reduced and pressure will be again exerted on the national currency, considers the president of the Bankers League Dumitru Ursu. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, he said that the National Bank will encounter difficulties in supplementing its foreign exchange reserves for the same reasons. According to Dumitru Ursu, two thirds of the remittances come from Eastern Europe, first of all from Russia, and only one third comes from the EU member states, but the origin of this money does not really matter. “Ultimately, both the Russian ruble and the euro are attractive currencies for Moldova’s economy and for the population. The Moldovan government also anticipated that the remittances will continue to decrease and we must think how to fill this void in the country’s foreign exchange reserves,” he stated.
Moldova, Turkmenistan sign agreement on commercial-economic cooperation
Moldova and Turkmenistan signed an agreement of commercial-economic cooperation in the first meeting of the Moldovan-Turkish intergovernmental commission for commercial-economic cooperation that was held in Ashgabat on April 6-7. According to a communique of the Ministry of Economy, the sides expressed interest in developing the bilateral cooperation in such areas as transport and construction and agreed to formulate and sign a number of bilateral accords in these fields. The Turkmen side invited the Moldovan side to take part in the international exhibition “Constructions of Turkmenistan – 2015” and in the conference “Development of the construction sector of Turkmenistan” that will take place in Ashgabat on August 27-29.
● THURSDAY, April 9
Airline liquidated
The air company “Moldova” founded in 2003 will be liquidated because it exists only as a legal entity and does not possess aircraft and does not perform entrepreneurial activities. So far this airline operated only one flight to carry an official delegation.
● FRIDAY, April 10
Employers and trade unions criticize state budget law
The managers of trade unions and employers harshly criticized the budgetary-fiscal policy and state budget law for 2015, arguing they worsen further the situation of the people and of the economic entities. Such statements were made in the talk show “Moldova live” on the public TV channel Moldova 1. Leonid Cerescu, chairman of the National Employers Union of Moldova, said the fiscal burden carried by the economic entities is very heavy and these could stage protests. “There is a trend already as new taxes are put on the economic entities every year. It happened so in the case of social insurance and of health insurance. Many economic entities will simply not resist and will close their businesses. The state should augment its budget incomes not by increasing the fiscal burden, but by adopting attractive policies for the businessmen so that these are motivated to start new businesses and to create new jobs,” he stated. The head of the National Council of Trade Unions of Moldova Oleg Buzda expressed his concern about the fact that the salaries will not be raised. “The government didn’t take into account our proposal to increase the salaries by 30%. The people will simply not cope with the situation and will have to leave the country so as to look for work abroad,” he said.
Director of railroad company “Calea Ferata” designated
The state-run railroad company “Calea Ferată din Moldova” (CFM) has a new director. This is Vladimir Cebotari, who became the winner of the contest to choose the manager of the CFM after gaining a maximum score. Minister of Transport Vasile Botnari on April 9 signed the order to name Vladimir Cebotari as the company’s director general and presented him to the staff of the CFM. The minister said that Vladimir Cebotari, who until recently held the post of Deputy Minister of Transport, has a rich experience in managing the transport sector, especially in such fields as investment attraction and implementation of the European management standards.
Third call for applications for MAC-P project
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, in concert with the World Bank-funded Moldova Agriculture Competitiveness Project (MAC-P), launched the third call for applications within the program of grants for facilitating market access for groups of horticultural producers. The deadline for applications is May 30. Minister Ion Sula told a news conference that the project enables to make the Moldovan agriculture more competitive. Within the previous two calls for applications, grants were provided to 12 groups of producers.
New proposal for granting subsidies in agriculture
The farmers that benefitted from subsidies of over 6 million lei during the last three years should not be allowed to get new subsidies from the state. Such a proposal was submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture for the subsidization regulations for this year. The Agency’s director Petru Maleru told a news conference that this proposal will be discussed with representatives of farmers so as to see their opinion. This provision will enable an increased number of small and medium-sized producers to have access to the state subsidization funds. Minister of Agriculture Ion Sula said they want to increase the subsidization fund as the farmers asked, but a fund larger than 610 million lei is not possible now.
Employers submit new proposals to Government
The National Employers Confederation of Moldova expressed its regret at the Government’s decision to assume responsibility for the state budget law and other important laws for 2015. In a statement, the Confederation says this decision deprived the business community of the possibility of discussing with the MPs the proposals for improving the fiscal and customs policy, which were ignored by the Government almost fully. The Confederation calls on the Government to launch consultations on the 2016-2018 Medium-Term Budgetary Framework and the fiscal and customs policy for 2016 so as to ensure predictability. The employers propose designing a methodological guidebook on the calculation and declaration of the incomes of private individuals for 2015 and the related taxes on salaries in order to avoid calculation errors.
Air Moldova launches new flight
The airline Air Moldova is extending the geography of its flights by launching a new direct flight Chisinau – Vienna – Chisinau. The flight will be operated three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, by an Embraer 190. The airfares on this flight start from €59 for a one-way ticket, with all taxes included.
