● MONDAY, November 20
Direct flights to Tel Aviv from summer
Direct flights to Tel Aviv will be operated once a week, on Tuesday, as from June 5, 2018 and twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday, as from July 6. According to the Government’s press service, the decision was taken during Prime Minister Pavel Filip’s visit to Israel on November 8-10, 2017. The launch of the direct flight became possible after the Government of Moldova eliminated the limitations on the number of airlines that can operate flights between Moldova and Israel.
Draft Government decision on creation of markets proposed for debates
The Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure proposed for public consultation the draft Government decision on the organization and functioning of markets. Under the draft, the markets will be created based on the local council’s decision. The market is administered by a manager that can be the local public administration or a business entity. The market manager, by mutual agreement with the local public authorities, will work out the regulations governing the activity of the market in accordance with the standard regulations approved by the Cabinet.
Agricultural year 2016-2017 is one of best during last few years
The investments in innovation technologies to prepare the land for sowing made the agricultural year 2016-2017 be one of the best during the last few years. An increasing number of farmers realize the risks that can appear owing to the unfavorable weather conditions and use different protection techniques, secretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Iurie Usurelu was saying in a news conference. According to Iurie Usurelu, an increasing number of irrigation systems have been installed near agricultural areas and less farmland is thus affected by drought. More farmers use chemicals and seeds of a higher quality and this enabled to obtain a better harvest. The areas protected against hail were also extended. Conservative soil tillage technologies when land is plowed once in four years and the furrows are not tuned upside down are more wisely used.
Public debates on implementation of Third Energy Package
The European Third Energy Package was transposed to the primary legislation of the Republic of Moldova by the Law on Electric Power, the Law on Natural Gas and the Law on Energy. As regards the implementation, the Government and the National Agency for Energy Regulation (NAER) committed themselves to taking a number of actions to implement these laws by transposing them to the secondary legislation. The commitments are mainly stipulated in the NAER’s regulation program for 2016-2018 and the national plan for implementing the Association Agreement with the EU. A public debate on the implementation of the Third Energy Package in Moldova was staged by the Institute for European Politics and Reforms and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Moldova in Chisinau on November 20. The Institute’s executive director Iulian Groza said that most of the measures defined in the Third Energy Package are under implementation and will be carried out until 2018.
Ministry of Finance submits proposals for de-bureaucratizing business
The Ministry of Finance proposed two bills to amend Government decisions concerning accounting at public institutions and private enterprises with the aim of reducing the administrative burden on the business community following complaints about excessive bureaucratization in the relations with fiscal authorities made by business associations.
● THUESDAY, November 21
Ministry of Health suggests regulations to govern activity of swimming pools
The activity of swimming pools will be regulated by a new document. The Ministry of Health proposed the relevant draft sanitary regulations for public debates on particip.gov.md. Under the informative note to the regulations, the necessity of such a document derives from the international commitments undertaken by Moldova in the field of health. The regulations define the sanitary norms for swimming polls and the requirements concerning the designing, laying out and exploitation of polls and the quality of water. The document also stipulates measures for preventing dangers in pools.
● WEDNESDAY, November 22
Government approves 2018Idraft state budget law
The executive agreed the draft state budget law for 2018. The document was worked out in accordance with the public policy priorities of the Government and the provisions of the financing agreements signed with the development partners. The draft state budget law for 2018 is based on an economic growth of 3%, an 8% increase in exports and a 6% rise in imports. Under the document, the state budget revenues will total 36.6 billion lei, an increase of 8.4% compared with the rectified state budget for 2017. The state budget expenditure will total 41.3 billion lei, an increase of 9.3% compared with the rectified state budget for 2017.
Measures to combat avian flu identical to those used in EU
The risk of transmitting the avian flu to domestic fowl and other birds kept in captivity from wild birds will be limited in the way stipulated in the amendments approved by the Government to its previous decision on avian influenza surveillance, control and combating. By these changes, Moldova adjusts itself to the European directives in this regard. This will facilitate the commercial exchanges with eggs and poultry to the EU member states. Moldova hopes it will be authorized to export these products to the EU in the nearest future.
Rules of applying common tax in IT parks to be clearer
The Government approved amendments to a number of regulations with a view to adjusting these to the provisions of the Law on Information Technology (IT) Parks. The goal of these amendments is to ensure a functional mechanism for imposing the common tax on the residents of IT parks.
Octavian Armasu: Budget growth forecast for 2018 is prudential
The state budget support growth forecast for 2018 is prudential and with reserves and the growth could be higher, Minister of Finance Octavian Armasu stated in the program “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel. “This budget comes to strengthen the economic growth and to give an impulse to the economic growth next year by larger public investments that we project for the coming year,” stated Octavian Armasu.
● THURSDAY, November 23
Bill that regulates activity of day workers passed in first reading
The unqualified, occasional activities done by day workers will be regulated by law. The MPs adopted in the first reading a bill whose goal is to reduce undocumented labor in agriculture, to legalize temporary labor relations of day workers, to regulate the activity of day workers and to make sure employers fulfill their obligations towards day workers. Under the bill, the daily work done by a day worker cannot exceed eight hours, for persons aged 15 and 16 five hours and for those aged between 16 and 18 seven hours. The weekly working hours should not exceed 40 hours. Also, a day worker can work for at most 90 days during a calendar year for one beneficiary.
Law on state-owned and municipal enterprises adopted in final reading
The MPs carried in the final reading a bill to optimize the administration of state-owned and municipal enterprises. The document regulates the particularities concerning the founding, functionality and closing of state-owned and municipal enterprises and the method of managing the property transferred to these. A minimum ceiling of 5,000 lei will be set for the registered capital of enterprises. There will be established a special legal regime with the distinct registration in the accounting records of public and social assets so that these could not be sold.
● FRIDAY, November 24
Moldova and EU sign agreement on €100m assistance
The Republic of Moldova and the European Union signed the package of documents on the provision of €100 million in macro-financial assistance in Brussels on November 23. Of this sum, €40 million will be allocated in the form of grants, while €60 million as a loan. The document was signed by European Commissioner for Economics and Financial Affairs, Taxations and Customs Pierre Moscovici, Minister of Finance Octavian Armasu and Governor of the National Bank of Moldova Sergiu Cioclea, in the presence of Prime Minister Pavel Filip. The set of documents will be remitted to Parliament for ratification. Meanwhile, efforts are being made to meet the conditions for receiving the first tranche.
Users in Moldova speak 4.5 hours on mobile phone on average a month
Statistics for January-September this year show that the number of mobile phone users and voice traffic in mobile phone networks continued to rise, while the revenues of mobile phone carriers decreased. According to the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI), the number of users in the first nine months of this year rose by over 63,700 (+1.4%) to over 4.4 million (SIM cards). The volume of voice traffic increased by 11.4 million minutes compared with the corresponding period last year to 4.640 billion minutes, while total revenues decreased by over 120.2 million lei (-4.6%) to over 2.519,4 billion lei.
Monitor of Official Gazette, 24.11.2017
The new issue of the O.G. (No. 411-420) presents first the Law to ratify the Third Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Extradition (No. 214, October 20, 2017). The given protocol (compiled on 10.11.2010 and signed by Moldova on 12.042013) is a mechanism for applying the simplified extradition procedure, without going through all the procedural formalities, which is aimed at optimizing and hastening this procedure. The next act in the O.G. (Law to amend and supplement a number of legislative acts, No. 223 of November 2, 2017) aims to implement a new concept of “social entrepreneurship”, which is entrepreneurial activity whose main goal is to solve social problems in the interests of the community. Thus, changes are made to a number of acts (Law No. 845/1992 on entrepreneurship and enterprises, Law No. 837/1996 on public associations, Law No. 581/1999 on foundations, etc.) to regulate and define the mentioned concept, the concept of “social enterprise” and the list of activities in the field. The provisions of the law will take effect in six months. The Law to amend and supplement Law No. 355/2005 on the salary system in the budgetary sector (No. 224, November 2, 2017) envisions the adjustment of the current legal framework to Law No. 52/2014 on the People’s Ombudsperson. Given the role of human rights promoter and the international practices, the salary of the of the People’s Ombudsperson was raised. A noble intention to contribute to the protection of the population’s health and avoid the negative effects of smoking and to bring additional revenues into the state budget was promoted by making changes to Article 9 of the 2017 State budget law No. 279/2016 (No. 227, November 2, 2017). More exactly, it was decided to raise the minimum selling price of filter cigarettes.
Public procurement sector reform violates provisions of Association Agreement
The law on public procurement adopted in 2015 has been amended five times already. Three new legislative initiatives to adjust the legal framework on public procurement, which were registered in Parliament, run counter to provisions of the Moldova - EU Association Agreement that was signed in 2014. The findings are contained in an analysis that was conducted by the Institute for European Politics and Reforms (IRPE) and was presented in public debates. IPRE expert Stanislav Ghiletski said the three initiatives can seriously undermine the process of modernizing the sector. These extend the executional cases when the stipulated public procurement procedures are excluded and the Public Services Agency is removed from this process.
Day of Agriculture Workers celebrated in Chisinau
“2017 is a good agricultural year in terms of quality of production and quantity of harvest, despite the natural challenges,” stated Minister of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Vasile Batca. In a festivity held to celebrate the Day of Agriculture Workers, the minister said this is due to the efforts made by farmers and this holiday is an occasion for rendering homage to all those who, by their work, provide us with food. “I’m glad that you made effort this year too and the grain and vegetable harvests are higher than last year. Some 3.8 tonnes of wheat were collected ion average per hectare. In the northern districts, there were gathered over 4 tonnes per hectare,” noted the minister.
Economic entities with state capital made profit last year, unlike a year before
The state-run enterprises in 2017 were to transfer 41.5 million lei deductions to the state budget. Also, the joint stock companies in which the state owns shares were to transfer 121.8 million lei in dividends. In a note accompanying the 2018 draft state budget law that was approved by the Cabinet in its last meeting, the Ministry of Finance says the economic entities with state capital that were subject to financial monitoring in 2016 made net profit totaling 196 million lei. One year earlier, they sustained losses of over 1.2 billion lei. A number of 81 entities of those monitored continued yet to suffer losses. At 28 of them, the net losses were larger than 1million lei. SA “Termoelectrica” reported losses of 72 million lei, Moldova’s Railways of 53 million lei, by 5.2 million lei less than in 2015, while the losses of the Chisinau Glass Factory rose by 3.3 million lei on 2015.
● SATURDAY, November 25
Share capital of SA “MoldFarm” to be raised by 1m lei
The share capital of SA “MoldFarm” could be increased by 1 million lei from state budget allocations. This is provided in a draft decision proposed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection for public consultations. The state owns 100% of the shares in SA “MoldFarm”. The company was created a year ago to purchase, import, store and sell medicines, pharmaceutical preparations and medical devices, including psychotropic remedies, perfumes and cosmetic products and medical optical and technical instruments.
