IPN on October 23 published an OP-ED article entitled “Russia, nationalism in Europe and Moldova” that was signed by expert in political sciences Dionis Cenusa. The analysis says that after 60 years of peace and prosperity, Europe returns to an old problem – secessionist nationalism. Even if this could not be treated till the end owing to the cohesion and regional development projects and the promotion of diversity and multicultural coexistence, its level was maintained at tolerable proportions for the European democracies inside the European Union to function normally. Russia sees geopolitical and economic benefits in the rebirth of nationalism in Europe. It aims to weaken the EU by populist and/or anti-European methods. Any form of destabilization in the EU will be a major challenge for Moldova, with unpredictable effects on development and even for the country’s security. The author says the the rebirth of the nationalist rhetoric inside the EU shows that both the member states and the European project go through a profound and long-lasting crisis that needs to be urgently diagnosed and treated. The causes hide in the relaxation of national democracies and indulgence of the traditional parties and Eurocrats, encouraged by the perception of the EU as an eternal project. The victory of nationalism over the European project is detrimental to the plan to democratize and modernize Moldova. The Euro-skepticism at European level is a source of regression in doing reforms in the neighboring states because it reduces vigilance and the power of conditionality. The mimicking of a pro-European dedication for reforms that is fully or partially used to monopolize the political power is as negative. Though the sustainability of Moldova’s European course depends, first of all, on the integrity of the political forces of the country, the existence of the course can be brought into question if the Euro-skeptical nationalism unstoppably spreads in the EU. Read more…
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Three halls outfitted with last-generation software with financial support from the EU program “Erasmus+” were opened at the Technical University of Moldova (UTM). The University contributed 600,000 lei. Dumitru Ciorba, head of the Software Engineering Department of the Faculty of Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics, said the 50 students chosen for the new one-semester program of studies “Software Engineering” took two tests, in English and in math. Having a personal computer, the students can go to one of the halls with access to modern teaching resources, connect this to the software and can study and take part in exchange of information, online conferences, etc. The new program of studies offers the studies the possibility of choosing the path and place where to study. By themselves, without too many teachers, they enrich their knowledge in the area they study based on the curriculum. UTM rector Viorel Bostan said software engineering is now popular on the IT market. The provision of high-quality education that would meet the market necessities and improvement of the teaching methods are among the priorities of the University’s administration. Read more...
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Six universities in Moldova have applied a new problem-based learning (PBL) method as of September 1. This is a method centered on the student, individual work and less theory where the teacher assumes the role of mentor. The six education institutions opened rooms outfitted with modern technology where students selected at a contest to take part in this project can study without attending lectures. The six universities are: State University of Moldova, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Academy of Economic Studies, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu State University of Cahul, Technical University and Alecu Russo State University of Balti. The new learning method is implemented as part of the EU program “Erasmus+”. The budget of the project is of over €1.5 million. Read more…
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The problem-based learning (PBL) method that has been implemented at several specialties of six Moldovan universities as of September 1 this year should be extended to cover the whole education system so as to adjust it to the labor market needs, said representatives of education institutions that started to implement this method on September 1 this year. This method is centered on the student, individual work and less theory, where the teacher assumes the role of mentor. The six universities are: State University of Moldova, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Academy of Economic Studies, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu State University of Cahul, Technical University and Alecu Russo State University of Balti.
Technical University pro-rector Larisa Bugaian said the switchover to the PBL method is a request from society. The traditional learning method is based on memorization, while the new method is based on team work and solving of problems met in the learning process. The students do not learn from books only, but from each other too. Technical University pro-rector Larisa Bugaian said the switchover to the PBL method is a request from society. The traditional learning method is based on memorization, while the new method is based on team work and solving of problems met in the learning process. Mihai Gavriliuc, pro-rector of the Nicolae Testemitanu University, noted that the project at their institution will be extended to cover more faculties as it improves the method of training new specialists. State University lecturer Liliana Turcan said the activities of the new learning method will help train skillful specialists who will be able to cope with problems that will appear while doing the job. Dumitru Ciorba, department head at the Technical University’s Faculty of Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics, said the new method requires additional work and a more active behavior so that the students obtain the results they want. Today the employers resort to new employment practices and the education system should be modified based on these requests. The new learning method is implemented as part of the EU program “Erasmus+”. The budget of the project is of over €1.5 million. Read more…
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The European Parliament adopted the EU Council’s position on the 2018 EU Budget compiled by MEP Siegfried Muresan as the EP’s chief negotiator for the 2018 EU Budget by 414 votes in favor, 163 against and 90 abstentions. By adopting this, the European Parliament accepted Siegfried Muresan’t proposal to increase allocations for the Eastern Neighborhood states, including Moldova, by €27 million to €619 million from 2018. The approved rise is additional to the increase of about 48 million included by the European Commission in the 2018 Draft Budget following a request made by MEP Siegfried Muresan. Unlike the macro-financial assistance, this money is intended for projects with European financing and will not reach the government. The European Parliament also accepted the MEP’s request to increase the allocations for investments at the European level in jobs and safety and rejected the EU Council’s request to decrease the 2018 EU Budget by €1.7 billion compared with the initial proposal of the European Commission. Read more…
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The Moldova – EU Parliamentary Association Committee had a meeting in Strasbourg on October 25. The Moldovan delegation consisted of Deputy Speaker Iurie Leanca, co-chairman of the Committee, MP Igor Vremea, deputy chairman of the Committee, and MPs Sergiu Sarbu, Gheorghe Mocanu, and Oxana Domenti. In a meeting with the Deputy Speaker of Moldova’s Parliament Iurie Leanca on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the Committee, MEP Norica Nicolai said justice is a sector where the Republic of Moldova faces delays. If the justice sector reform was completed, the access to the €100 million that Chisinau was to receive would be opened. According to a press release of the Group of the European People’s Party of Moldova, Norica Nicolai said the EU should support the Republic of Moldova so as not to allow the development course to be changed. “The Republic of Moldova overcame the political crises that hampered the rapprochement with the EU and makes effort to restore the partners’ confidence. It is important to objectively assess the achievements of the Parliament and Government and to agree clear rules by which the European institutions should exert productive pressure on the Moldovan authorities,” Iurie Leanca stated in the meeting. Read more...
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As a result of the meeting of the Moldova – EU Parliamentary Association Committee, the members of Moldova’s Parliament and of the European Parliament adopted a set of recommendations. By these, Moldova is requested to stick to the reform path, to fight corruption and to avoid the polarization of society during the key electoral year 2018. The members of the Parliamentary Association Committee requested the Moldovan authorities and EU institutions to cooperate more intensely so as to realize the whole potential of the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. The electoral system reform was one of the most sensitive issues in the debate. The MEPs underlined the importance of ensuring the impartiality when establishing single-member electoral districts. The MPs requested the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and the Eastern Partnership Summit to show ambition and pragmatism before the legitimate expectations of the Eastern partners so as to obtain concrete results for the citizens of these states and to eliminate the roaming taxes so that the citizens of the EaP countries benefit from the EU’s successes too. Co-chairman Andi Cristea said the meetings of the Parliamentary Association Committee are a key instrument for developing the EU – Moldova relations. He also said that reforms are needed to succeed and political will and resources are needed to do reforms. Read more…
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The electoral bloc formed by the Party “Action and Solidarity” (PAS) and the Party “Platform Dignity and Truth” (PPPDA will be valid not only for the parliamentary elections, but also for other elections, the leaders of the two parties announced in the program “Emphasis on today” on TVR Moldova channel. “When I spoke about the unity of the democratic, anti-oligarchic and pro-European forces, I referred to a much border agenda that covers not only the presidential elections. I referred also to the parliamentary and local elections and I think this should be our preoccupation,” said the chairman of the PPPDA Andrei Nastase. PAS leader Maia Sandu said the two parties should be very powerful in the upcoming parliamentary elections so that they are able to keep the country’s European course. “I think everyone saw that our partnership in the presidential elections produced results. Now we are determined to free the country from this toxic Plahotniuc-Dodon duo, at the first stage, and to rebuild things that were damaged a lot, at the second stage,” she stated. Read more…
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The companies will be obliged to indicate 243 health components on labels of food products, others than those that refer to the reduction of the risk of infection and the development and health of children. The information refers to vitamins, organic acids, salts, biotins, microelements, enzymes, etc. The bill was drafted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection and was proposed for public debates. The authors of the bill say the goal is to increase the access to information and the protection level of the population’s health and to adjust the conditions on the domestic market to those on the EU market. When having access to this information, the consumers will be able to choose the food products sold on the market, including imported ones, in accordance with the food safety requirements. In the long-run, individual culture will be developed together with the qualitative change in nutrition, contributing thus to the maintaining and strengthening of the population’s health. Read more…
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The conditions for obtaining macro-financial assistance from the EU will be fulfilled by this yearend, Prime Minister Pavel Filip assured the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Peter Michalko in a meeting with on October 26. The Premier assured the European official that efforts are being made to stimulate the reform agenda. In particular, emphasis is made on the adoption of the laws envisioned by the Association Agreement and the fulfillment of the conditions for obtaining macro-financial assistance from the EU. Peter Michalko encouraged the Government to continue reforms in justice, the fight against corruption and strengthening of the rule of law. Pavel Filip and Peter Michalko also discussed the implementation of the public administration reform. “The goal of the Government reform is to create competent public institutions so that all the drafted policies are farsighted and of a high quality,” noted the Premier. In the same connection, the European official encouraged the use of the expertise of the EU High-Level Advisers’ Mission that is providing assistance in doing reforms in Moldova. Read more…
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The Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline could become fully functional at the end of 2018 if the plan of action agreed by Romanian and Moldovan energy specialists is respected, Romania’s Ambassador in Chisinau Daniel Ionita stated in a TV program. He said the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline is a strategic project that will ensure an essential thing for the Republic of Moldova – energy security – by diversifying the gas supply sources. “The given project goes straight now as a meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission specialized in economy was recently held in Bucharest and one of its sessions centered on energy interconnection and the participants agreed a plan of action on that occasion,” stated the diplomat.
According to the ambassador, Moldova’s energy security can be ensured by two ways – by interconnection by aboveground power lines and by the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline. A feasibility study was carried out on the energy interconnection. “This project envisions the connection of Moldova’s energy system to the European area. Romania already forms part of the European area and any kind of such an agreement implies the consent of the European partners,” said Daniel Ionita. Read more…
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The Institute of Export and International Trade of the UK certified 18 specialists in export, a part of whom are from the Transnistrian region, on the consultancy market of Moldova within the Support to Confidence Building Measures Program that is financed by the EU and implemented by UNDP. According to the EU Delegation to Moldova, 20 specialists in export from both sides of the Nistru during five months attended a number of information sessions and studied the necessary instruments for performing international trade transactions, such as customs procedures, international trade regimes, trade facilitation instruments, etc. Of these, 18 passed the exam and were certified. The Support to Confidence Building Measures Program contributes to increasing confidence between the inhabitants of both sides of the Nistru by engaging local leaders, leaders of the business community and civil society in joint projects to develop business and social infrastructure. Read more…
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A symphonic concert was held in Chisinau on October 26 on the occasion of the National Day of the Czech Republic. Organized by the Czech Embassy in Moldova and the National Philharmonic “Sergey Lunkevich”, the concert consisted of masterpieces of the Czech classical music performed under the direction of conductor Mihail Agafita. According to the Czech Ambassador to Moldova Zdenek Krejci, the compositions form part of the renaissance period of the Czech nation, of the second half of the 19th century. In a reception that preceded the concert, Zdenek Krejci said the relations between the two states this year developed positively and the Czech investments and commercial exchanges increased owing to the activity of the state institutions, in particular the business sector. The ambassador also said that there are many possibilities of developing the bilateral relations and the opening of the consulate of the Czech Republic in Balti is one of these. The expectations of the consulate’s participation in the development of the economic relations between the Czech Republic and Moldova are big. The Czech Republic has always been one of the most reliable supporters of Moldova’s cooperation with the European Union. Read more…
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During the first years of implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), trade between Moldova and the EU witnessed positive developments. Even if export prices decreased, the volume of exports grew and the value of supplies to the EU consequently increased. On the other hand, imports declined under the influence of the modest growth of imports from the EU and the reduction in import prices. As a result, the commercial relations improved. The balance of trade deficit with the EU in 2016 halved compared with 2014. The findings are contained in an analysis conducted by Alexandru Fala, expert of the independent think tank “Expert Grup”. The expert said the liberalization of trade with the EU didn’t cause shocks for the vulnerable sectors of the national economy, such as agriculture. Moreover, the exports of agrifood products exceeded the imports of these goods from the EU. According to Alexandru Fala, the structure of the national economy hasn’t yet changed significantly event if the DCFTA favored the export and, implicitly, the economic dynamics. Thus, exports to the EU continue to be dominated by products from economic sectors based on the extensive use of labor force, such as agriculture. Even if the functioning of the DCFTA is a precondition for modernizing the country, the restructuring and development of Moldova’s economy can be ensured only if authentic reforms are done. Read more…
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The summary of news from the IPN series “European Integration” is produced with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany and can be further disseminated on condition that the source is indicated.
