The European Parliament on May 16 decided to delay the provision of the macro-financial assistance approved for Moldova this January for at least one month amid concerns about the political developments in the country, related to the change in the electoral system, expressed by a number of parliamentary groups.

The boy aged two from Bobulesti village of Floresti district, who went missing on May 9, was found drowned in the Raut River on May 16. The body was discovered almost 15 km from the place where the child was seen last. A medical examination will be performed. Preliminarily, it was established that the boy drowned.

The Government on May 17 approved the regulations concerning the conditions, order and procedure for offering money from the National Agriculture and Rural Development Fund that totals 900million lei in 2017. Of this sum, 231 million lei comes from the ENPARD Moldova Program – Support for Agriculture and Rural Development. The subsidies will not exceed 50% of the investment costs.

The executive on May 17 accepted three candidates for the post of Moldova’s ambassador abroad, who are to be confirmed by presidential decree. Anatolie Vanghelie was named as ambassador to Greece, Violeta Agrici as ambassador to Spain, while Victor Moraru as Moldova’s Permanent Representative to the United States in New York.

President Igor Dodon on May 17 handed over state awards to the members and producer of the band SunStroke Project, which ranked third at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, achieving the best result for Moldova at this competition so far.

Parliament on May 17-18 housed the 49th meeting of the Legal and Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.

A man aged 36 from Hirova village of Calarasi district in the evening of May 17 murdered his wife and his two daughters aged 6 and 13 and then killed himself. It is alleged that the man resorted to such a gesture because he was angry with his wife, who intended to return to Israel to work, after working there during the past year.

The Liberal Party on May 18 initiated the collection of signatures in favor of the dismissal of Igor Dodon from the position of President for the reason that this violates the Constitution. The Liberal leader Mihai Ghimpu said this initiative was launched in January and is not a response to the collection by Socialists of signatures for the dismissal of Dorin Chirtoaca from the post of mayor of Chisinau.

The experts of the Venice Commission who arrived in Chisinau on May 18 had separate meetings with the parliamentary groups and discussed the supplements to the Constitution proposed by President Igor Dodon for extending the Head of State’s powers to dissolve Parliament with these. The Venice Commission delegations also had a meeting with Igor Dodon. The President said he will insist on the amendment of the Constitution by all ways possible as he is firmly convinced that the early parliamentary elections should take place as soon as possible. No conclusion has been yet reached. The discussions will be continued in Venice. An appraisal of the President’s initiative will be presented in June.

The National Agency for Energy Regulation on May 19 approved a decision that provides for the increase in water tariffs in Chisinau municipality.  Household users will pay 10.69 lei per cubic meter of water, as opposed to 9.19 lei at present. For business entities, the new tariff will be 24.46 lei, as against 22.96 lei at present. Household users in Ungheni will pay 20.47 lei per cubic meter, up from 19.95 lei at present, while business entities will pay 38.47 lei, up 33.32 lei from now. The decisions will take effect when they are published.

Four employees of the National Food Safety Agency and two businessmen were arrested for 72 hours on suspicion of misuse of power and swindle on May 19. Those arrested include the head of the Agency’s Phytosanitary Products Control Division and three employees of the local subdivisions of Ialoveni, Drochia and Dubasari. These are suspected of issuing phytosanitary certificates to business entities for exporting apples to the Russian Federation. The companies exported apples from Poland to Russia through Belarus without crossing the border of the Republic of Moldova.

After a pause of two years, the Moldovan-Romanian intergovernmental commission for European integration came together for the fourth session in Chisinau on May 19. The sides agreed to continue the projects under implementation and to focus on the priorities aimed at supporting the European course of the Republic of Moldova. The sides also agreed to support the police reform by sharing the experience and good practices for developing the Common Center for Training Law Enforcement Bodies and capitalizing on the cooperation platforms existing in justice.

The Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family on May 19 launched the National Award for people aged 60 and over, who achieved special results in the fields of culture, arts, technology, science, civic activism, medicine, entrepreneurship, agriculture, sport, information technology and others. The award is conferred on the occasion of the International Day of Older People. The winners will be handed over diplomas and a money award.

An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale occurred in Vrancea region of Romania on May 19, at 11pm. The quake was felt in the Republic of Moldova, especially in its southern part. In Chisinau, the quake was felt with an intensity of about 3 degrees, while in Cahul and Leova – of 3-4 degrees.

The Solidarity March “Fara Frica”, mounted by the Information Center “Genderdoc-M” on May 21, took place amid a number of incidents. A group of Christians threw eggs and bags with water at the representatives of the LGBT community. To avoid altercations, the march participants were taken away by police buses. Even if the road was blocked and the LGBT march could no longer continue, the organizers described the event as the largest one so far. At the same time, on the initiative of President Igor Dodon, who expressed his disagreement with the organization of the LGBT march, a Family Festival was staged in the Great National Assembly Square of Chisinau in support of the values of the traditional family.


Selection by Sabina Rebeja.