● MONDAY, January 4

 Reports on evolution of electronic communications market to be presented online 

The providers of electronic communications networks and services will complete and present statistical reports about the development of the market segments were they work online. The National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology said the presentation of reports through the information system “Online reporting” will be possible after the first quarter of 2016. According to a press release of the Agency, if the providers do not have technical possibilities to do this work online, they can submit the filled out forms of the statistical reports in electronic form to raport.statistic@anrceti.md. They are obliged to afterward file the reports on paper for confirmation.

● TUESDAY, January 5

 Meat and dairy producers sound alarm 

The meat and dairy producers of Moldova warn they will be unable to cope with the competition of the similar products made in Ukraine. According to them, from January 1, 2016, Russia banned the import of a number of Ukrainian products, including dairy and meat products, and 35 Ukrainian companies were authorized to export animal products to Moldova. In a press release, the chairman of the Association “UniAgroProtect” Alexandru Slusari says the created situation endangers the national animal breeding sector. “Starting with April 2015, the meat producers are obliged to pay VAT of 20%, while the agricultural producers of Ukraine pay only 15% of the calculated VAT. The price of fodder in Ukraine is by about 30% lower than in Moldova, the electric power is by almost 135% cheaper, while of gas – by 16%. The insufficient border control contributes to increased smuggling,” stated Alexandru Slusari.

● WEDNESDAY, January 6

 Fiscal Council could be set up in Moldova 

The authorities are considering the possibility of creating a Fiscal Council in the Republic of Moldova, which will be an independent public institution with analytical capacities that will compile and present reports on fiscal matters to the public. The Ministry of Finance calls on the population to submit proposals and make comments on the relevance of such a council. In a press release, the Ministry says the fiscal councils are independent public institutions aimed at strengthening commitments to sustainable public finances through various functions, including public assessments of fiscal plans and performance, and the evaluation or provision of macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts. They also promote fiscal transparency and stimulate productive public debates on fiscal matters. Most of the EU member states have such councils of different institutional models.

Pensions increased in Transnistria 

Pensioners in the Transnistrian region receive higher pensions from January 1. The lowest pension there is 616 Transnistrian rubbles (1,100 lei), up 10 rubles on last year. According to the local press, the pensions in Transnistria are indexed in two stages. At the second stage, the lowest pension will be raised to 632 Transnistrian rubbles (1,128 lei) on July 1.

Number of ported phone numbers up over 27% in 2015 

The number of people who used the phone number portability service in 2015 rose by 27.1% on 2014 to over 47,800, show the data of the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology. Of the total numbers ported in 2015, over 90% were mobile phone numbers. About 4,000 numbers were ported monthly last year. Of the 44,800 ported mobile phone numbers, over 28,500 were accepted into the network of Moldcell, more than 9,800 – into the network of Orange Moldova, while about 6,500 – into the network of Moldtelecom (Unite). From the networks of Orange Moldova and Moldtelecom (Unite), about 30,600 numbers and over 3,000 numbers, respectively, were ported to the network of Moldcell, while from that of Moldcell - over 11,100 numbers were ported to other networks.

The Bat! v7.1 Christmas Edition features OAuth authentication for Gmail and Mail.Ru 

Chisinau (IPN)

Ritlabs, SRL releases The Bat! v7.1.8 Christmas Edition with several new features, including OAuth authentication with Gmail and Mail.Ru, custom display names in the message list and others. The developers of the email client have also increased the download speed of a large number of messages in POP3 accounts, added new features and improvements in RSS and EWS accounts as well as in search, Inbox Analyzer and Mail Ticker. The new version of The Bat! allows authenticating with Gmail and Mail.Ru accounts using the OAuth 2.0 protocol. This is a modern way to access these email accounts because the passwords to access these accounts will not be stored in The Bat! configuration files, as before.

● FRIDAY, January 8

 Export quotas granted by EU remain unused 

The exports of a number of products from Moldova to the EU, such as grapes, apples and tomatoes, were lower than the quotas stipulated in the Association Agreement. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry explained that the export of agrifood products to the EU is influenced by the partial resumption of the export to Russia. Also, the export is determined by the more favorable prices on the CIS market. In these conditions, the producers tend to return to the traditional export markets. The maintaining of the ban on the import of agrifood products from the EU into Russia contributes to the saturation of the EU market, more difficult access to it and less favorable prices. According to the Ministry’s data, the producers from Moldova in the first nine months of last year exported to the EU almost 24 tonnes of tomatoes to the value of about US$11,000. Lithuania and Romania are the main countries to which Moldovan tomatoes were exported. The Association Agreement stipulates a quota of 2,000 tonnes. An export quota of 220 tonnes was set for garlic, but no garlic was exported.

 Exports fell over 16% in 11 months 

Moldova’s exports in the first 11 months of last year decreased by 16.4% compared with the corresponding period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics has said. According to experts, exports declined due to the diminished share of the economy. The forecasts for this year are also not very optimistic. Director of the Market Economy Institute Roman Chirca said that another cause of the lower exports is the fact that Moldova is a net importing country. Moldova does not have many goods intended for export because it does not produce them. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, over 60% of the exports in the first 11 months of 2015 were directed to the EU countries. The food products, live animals and manufactured articles were among the most exported goods. Roman Chirca said that compared with last year, Moldova’s exports to the European Union remained at the same level, with small exceptions.

● SATURDAY, January 9

 Deadline for presenting income reports to ICT regulator 

The National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology warns the providers of electronic communications networks and services that they must submit reports on the incomes earned from the provision of electronic communications networks and services in the fourth quarter of 2015 by January 10. It recommends the providers to present the given reports through the information system “Online reporting”. The Agency informs the providers that it recently got an IBAN (International Bank Account Number) code, which is MD55ML000000002251934169. This code is used starting with January 1, 2016 to make local transfers in national currency.