● TUESDAY, June 9

Moldova to hand over PA BSEC presidency to Romania

Moldova is to hand over the six-month presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (PA BSEC) to Romania. In the 45th session of the PA BSEC, which is held in Chisinau on June 9 and 10, Head of Parliament Andrian Candu said the economic cooperation between states in a world of globalization is essential. The Speaker said the economic cooperation between the countries from the Black Sea Region represents a valuable opportunity that will bring benefits to all the states from the region, contributing to regional stability and prosperity. The activity within this organization is probably the most difficult one because half of the 12 member states face conflicts on their territories, but the organization is an ideal platform of communication between the states that do not have bilateral relations.

“Expert-Grup” recommends increasing retirement age for women

The Independent Analytical Center “Expert-Grup” recommends the authorities to raise the retirement age for women from 57 to 62, up to the retirement age for men, and to also increase the social contributions payment period from 30 to 35 years so as to save the pension system. Another recommendation is to increase the pensions based on the consumer price index two times a year, not once, as now. According to an analysis by “Expert-Grup”, the situation of the pension system in Moldova has worsened following the mass migration of people of working age. The ratio of employees, who contribute to the formation of pensions, to pensioners is 1.2:1, as opposed to 1.3:1 in 2006. According to international practices, the lowest admissible level is 4:1. The average pension in Moldova does not cover the minimum subsistence level, while the ratio of pension to salary is the lowest in the region.

● WEDNESDAY, June 10

Companies with debts to state social insurance budget

The National House of Social Insurance made public a list of 579 companies with debts to the state social insurance budget. In the period between January and June 2015, their arrears amounted to over 100,000 lei. The National College of Winemaking and Winegrowing accumulated the largest debt – of 29.5 million lei. The list of companies with debts includes state-owned companies and companies with majority state capital as well as known private companies. The National House of Social Insurance reminds that the late or incomplete transfer of the mandatory state social insurance contributions is penalized with a fine of 600 to 1,000 lei, imposed on persons holding responsible posts (company managers).

Moldova is at pre-insolvency stage, Doctor of Economy

Moldova is at a pre-insolvency stage. The economic situation in the country is alarming and can any time cause serious consequences for the people, said Doctor of Economy Gheorghe Costandachi, who considers that the Government and Parliament must immediately take measures to prevent an economic catastrophe. In a news conference, Gheorghe Costandachi said that in the previous elections the people voted for the pro-European parties in the hope that changes will be brought about, but nothing has been done since 2009. The employees of the state institutions are mainly relatives of the ruling elite. This way they control the state institutions and enjoy protectionism when implementing a series of raider attack schemes in the financial-banking sector. This led to the appearance of an economic-financial crisis in Moldova.

● THURSDAY, June 11

More money for repairing roads of access to social facilities

The program to repair local roads will be continued. The Government approved the allocation of 452 million lei from the road fund for repairing the roads of access to social facilities in villages and towns. The list of the 707 social facilities the access roads to which will be improved were consulted with the local public authorities. “Priority will be given to the access roads to schools, medical centers and other social facilities,” said Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure Vasile Botnari. The 2015 road fund is 1.523, 748 billion, an increase of 159.5 million lei on last year.

Agriculture minister: We are waiting for decisions of Rosselkhoznadzor

The Moldovan authorities are waiting for the decisions that will be taken by Russia’s Federal Service for Phytosanitary and Veterinary Surveillance Rosselkhoznadzor as regards the resumption of export to the Russian market. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Ion Sula said each exporter and producer must have access to this market and these should not be divided by the geographic position or other criteria. As to the lifting of the ban on the import of Moldovan wine by Russia, the minister said there is no answer in this respect yet. “We only know that last week two companies were allowed to export to Russia. They are to present their products for examination again so as to get this right. There will be more companies examined. We are waiting for the decisions of Rospotrebnadzor too,” he stated.

Sales of pay TV services decline

The sales of pay TV services in the first quarter of 2015 decreased compared with the corresponding period last year following the decline in the number of subscribers to these services. According to the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology, the sales of such services in the first three months of this year fell by 2.4 million lei (5.9%) to about 38.4 million, while the number of subscribers to pay TV decreased by 6,400 (2.4%)  to 267,600. The reduction in the revenues from the sale of pay TV services was due to lower sales of providers of cable networks and MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution System) networks. At the same time, providers’ revenues from the sale of pay TV services based on IPTV rose.

● FRIDAY, June 12

Export of fruit to Russia resumed

The National Food Safety Agency announced that the export of Moldovan fruit to Russia has been resumed. In a note distributed to the media, the Agency says the export of fruit to Russia was resumed on June 12 following inspections by experts of Rosselkhoznadzor between May 29 and June 1 and based on the guarantees provided by the Agency. Particular Moldovan producers can export apples, pears, quinces, apricots, cherries, nectarines, plums and sloe. The Agency continues to have a dialogue with Rosselkhoznadzor so that the number of companies that will be authorized to export fruit to Russia is extended.

Central bank institutes special supervision at three banks

The National Bank of Moldova instituted special supervision for a period of three months at three banks, namely Moldova Agroindbank, Moldinconbank and Victoriabank, the central bank’s spokeswoman Rodica Teleuca has told. The special supervision was instituted in a move to obtain a larger volume and more detailed information than within the standard procedures. “The special supervision will be for the benefit of the clients, who will know that the National Bank monitors closely the banks’ activity, and for the benefit of the banks and their shareholders,” stated Rodica Teleuca. BC Moldova Agroindbank SA issued a communique, saying the special supervision procedures are due to the unstable political and economic situation in Moldova, especially to the problems faced by the national banking system lately.

Romania offers €158,000 to Moldova for developing beekeeping sector

Romania provides €158,000 for creating the Integrated System of Sustainable Development of the Beekeeping Sector of Moldova. The goal of the project is to develop a system for purchasing, storing, processing and packing honey products at regional level and for developing the melliferous potential by creating a modern marketing system. The memorandum concerning the implementation of the project was signed in Edinet on June 12.