The authorities in Chisinau are doing everything possible to bring the Transnistrian region out of the gray area and back into the constitutional field of Moldova, says the political pundit Mihai Isac.
From January 1, businesses on the eastern side of the Nistru River pay the same customs duties as companies on the western side, with the new provisions of the Customs Code being uniformly applied throughout the Republic of Moldova.
“The provisions of the new Customs Code apply throughout the territory of the Republic of Moldova. There is no special provision dedicated to the Transnistrian region in this Customs Code. There is a cluster of economic interests in Tiraspol. There is a desire to maintain an economy that cannot be subject to any national or international control. The Transnistrian region is an area where the Russian security services have an impressive physical and technical presence. The Transnistrian region is used as an important base in this hybrid war waged by Russia against the population of Moldova, but also against other states, including Ukraine and Romania. The Transnistrian region is also a symbolic presence. It became the only bridgehead of the Russian world after the 2014 Revolution of Dignity”, said the expert Mihai Isac during a show on Radio Moldova.
According to the expert, Chisinau’s bold decision in relation to the economy of the Transnistrian region is also encouraged by the change in Kiev’s attitude towards the separatist regime in Tiraspol.
“The change in Ukraine's policy towards the Transnistrian region after 2014, after the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, offers new possibilities for the Republic of Moldova to bring the region to the left of the Dniester into the constitutional field. Such a decision taken in Chisinau would have been impossible before the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. The declarations from Tiraspol are intended to scare Chisinau, we saw demonstrations in front of the administrative demarcation line, we saw threats against Romanian-language schools and against farmers. But the authorities in Chisinau are doing everything possible to bring their own citizens from the east and the region itself back into the constitutional field. Those in Tiraspol and their patrons from Moscow realize that this decision will be followed by others”, said Mihai Isac.
According to the Reintegration Policy Bureau, in 2023 exports of the Transnistrian region to the EU constituted 70.48%, a record high since the signing of the Association Agreement. According to the Chisinau authorities, this increase is due to ongoing efforts to gradually include the activity of businesses based in the Transnistrian region into the national legal field.
