● MONDAY, Julie 11
Swine fever hotbed in Lozova
A hotbed of swine fever was confirmed in Lozova village of Strășeni district. Specialists took measures on the spot and the animals were slaughtered. Posts were set up at the entrance into and exit of the village so as not to allow taking pigs or pork and pork products in and out.
Contacted by IPN for details, the mayor of the village Lilian Botnaru said that it goes to two private farms. One of them had up to ten pigs, while the other one had about 30 pigs. The houses are located on the outskirts of the village and the people have space for breeding animals. Checks were carried out at other addresses later, but no other hotbeds were confirmed.
Orange alert for low flow of water in rivers
The State Weather Service said the level of water in Moldova’s rivers remains low. Therefore, yellow and orange alerts for low flow of water were issued for July 11-19.
The low flow is due to the lack of adequate precipitation and the high temperatures. This way, the yellow alert is valid for the Nistru, where the volume of water represents now 40-45% of the average multiannual values. The left branches of the Nistru are an exception.
Some farmers will have crops lower by 50-60% owing to drought, NFF
The farmers in Moldova will suffer serious losses owing to this year’s drought and many of them, owing to the lack of revenues, risk being unable to start autumn sowing, said Vasile Mârzenco, executive director of the National Farmers Federation (NFF). He told IPN that due to the lack of precipitation, the wheat and barley crops were affected, but the crop and sunflower harvests will be yet the lowest.
PAS government promises to launch more salary-related and protection measures
Even if the first year of PAS government wasn’t as expected, the people are urged to show patience and be confident so as to see the switchover from a crisis government to a government of growth. Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița, the first vice president of the Party of Action and Solidarity, promised that in August, when it will be a year of the formation of the PAS government, there will be launched a number of measures in the fields of remuneration and protection.
In a news conference titled “PAS reports”, Premier Gavrilița spoke about the results achieved by the current government. She said that the minimum pension was raised to 2,200 lei, while the minimum official salary to 3,500 lei.
Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said that the former governments increased pensions for persons with disabilities by 200 lei over three years, the current government raised the pensions of persons with special needs by 1,000 lei in ten months. Besides, the pensions were indexed by almost 14%. Over 1 million households received subsidies for gas, by about 3,500 lei each. The agriculture subsidization fund was augmented.
● TUESDAY, Julie 12
Consumers who purchase food products can ask for quality verification documents
The consumers who want to purchase animal and non-animal food products have the right to ask for documents showing that these comply with the quality standards. Among the documents showing the product is inoffensive and safe are the certificate of inoffensiveness and the test report issued by an accredited laboratory, Afanasi Tarlev, deputy director general for food safety and consumer protection at the National Food Safety Agency, has told IPN. He noted that he was contacted over reports concerning the withdrawal of a large lot of melons from the market because these contained higher than allowable nitrate levels.
Moldovan apples exported for first time to Germany and Finland
This year the Republic of Moldova for the first time exported apples to Germany and Finland. In January-June this year, 60 tones of Moldovan apples were exported to Germany, while 20 tones to Finland, Iurie Fală, executive director of the Association of Fruit Producers and Exporters “Moldova Fruct”, has told IPN.
He noted that in the first six months of this year Moldova exported 146,000 tones of apples, as opposed to 100,000 tones in the corresponding period last year, an increase of 46%. The rise is due to the expansion of export markets. Last year the Moldovan apples were exported mainly to the Russian Federation, but this year large quantities of apples were sold to Libya, Malaysia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Ukraine. Apple exports to the Middle East were also larger. About 1,000 tones of Moldovan apples reached Saudi Arabia so far this year. A large quantity of apples from Moldova goes to Romania.
Moldova’s cherry and sour cherry exports up two times
The exports of Moldovan cherries and sour cherries this year are two times larger than last year. According to Customs Service data, cherry exports grew by 117%, while sour cherry exports by 99%.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry said that despite the regional crisis, the companies combined forces and by now managed to export over 12,000 tones of cherries (about 640 trucks) and over 3,000 tones of sour cherries (about 160 trucks).
● WEDNESDAY, Julie 13
Rise in interest rate on active loans within First House Program to be limited
The authorities have announced a number of support measures for the beneficiaries of the First House Program. First of all, the rise in the interest rate will be capped to 4 percentage points for six months and to 6 percentage points for 12 consecutive months. For July-December 2022, the measure will reduce the rise in the interest rate by one quarter compared with the current conditions of the program. The Government will also subsidize half of the rise in the remaining monthly rate.
● THURSDAY, Julie 14
PPA to initiate direct negotiations with companies that would audit accounts of Moldovagaz
The Commission for Exceptional Situations entrusted the Public Property Agency with the task of initiating direct negotiations with international legal and financial companies that would audit the accounts of Moldovagaz and will determine its debts to Gazprom and Factoring Finance.
According to the relevant decision taken by the Commission on July 13, the Public Property Agency will sign an independent audit services contract so as to determine the debts of SA Moldovagaz for the gas supplied to consumers on the right side of the Nistru by holding negotiations without publishing a participation notice beforehand. The Agency will also present the public procurement contract signed with the economic operator that will be chosen as the winner within 24 hours of the signing of the contract.
Quota of 50% of store shelves for national products to be abolished
The quota of 50% of store shelves intended for national products is to be abolished. Parliament gave a first reading to a bill to this effect. According to the Ministry of Economy, which is the author of the initiative, this provision sounds nice and patriotically, but it runs counter to the international commitments undertaken by the Republic of Moldova and violates the fundamental principle of international trade.
Moldova faces multiple flaws in ensuring integrity at state level, study
The Republic of Moldova experiences multiple shortcomings in ensuring integrity at state level and this is due to the fact that the current legislation explains the political property-related reasons in too general terms, shows a study entitled “Sector of state-owned companies: corruption risks and necessary reforms” that was produced by the independent think tank “Expert-Grup” with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
● FRIDAY, Julie 15
2022/07/15/06:45/ Igor Grosu: We are preparing a mechanism for subsidizing gas rates so as to pass winter
Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu assured that the Republic of Moldova will not remain without natural gas in winter. He said that discussions are being held with representatives of the Russian gas company Gazprom and with other natural gas suppliers. As the gas rates are high, the state will provide subsidies, through bills, to consumers with low incomes and to business entities.
The Speaker noted that the developments in Ukraine generate unpredictability on the international energy market, but the Republic of Moldova will not remain without natural gas. Owing to a €300 million loan from the EBRD, Moldova will be able to store gas for winter.
CUB: Moldova should ensure transparency and responsibility for correct use of foreign funds
The Republic of Moldova should ensure transparency and responsibility for the correct use of the money provided as international development aid. The national authorities should offer the public accurate and detailed information about the way in which the conditions imposed by the European Union on Moldova are being fulfilled and should enable the citizens to verify the measures taken by the central Government to achieve the accession objectives, said members of the Committee for Unity and Wellbeing (CUB), who welcome the granting of the EU candidate status to Moldova.
Commission of inquiry into mineral resources: Tax evasion and illegal exploitation
Considerable damage was caused to the state budget as a result of the illegal exploitation of useful mineral resources and tax evasion. The damage is yet estimated to be much higher as many of the illegalities weren’t documented. There are many complaints from the local public authorities and citizens about the problems created by carriers of mineral resources as these travel at higher than allowed speed and exceed the admissible load weight, generating security risks and destroying roads. Such conclusions were reached by the commission of inquiry into the exploitation of useful mineral resources that presented a report in Parliament.
Europe preparing to buy gas from Azerbaijan
The European Commission has proposed to EU countries a deal with Azerbaijan to increase gas imports and seek the expantion of infrastructure for this purpose, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
The proposed draft memorandum is part of EU efforts to slash reliance on Russian gas following the war in Ukraine. “The Sides aspire to support bilateral trade of natural gas, including through exports to the European Union, via the Southern Gas Corridor, of at least 20 billion cubic metres of gas annually by 2027, in accordance with commercial viability and market demand”, says the document, dated July 11.
At the eighth ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Consultative Council, which took place in February in Baku, Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu met with the Azeri Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazovavut, who said who noted that his country has the potential needed to export Azeri gas and to extend the Southern Gas Corridor. “Azerbaijan is ready to initiate a dialogue on the issue with the interested sides”, it was reported.
Recently, Andrei Spînu said discussions with Azerbaijan continued. “The Republic of Moldova has real chances of purchasing natural gas from Azerbaijan”, he declared.
● SATURDAY, Julie 16
Veaceslav Ioniță: Instead of €100, Moldovans from diaspora need to send home €150
This year, instead of €100, the Moldovans form the diaspora need to send home €150 for their relatives to purchase the same volume of goods as last year, Veaceslav Ioniță, economic expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul”, posted on social media.
Moldova in EU – Azerbaijan energy cooperation
In a meeting to sum up the results achieved during the first half a year, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev confirmed that Baku during the next few days is ready to sign a document on energy security with the EU, IPN reports, with reference to Ukrainian and Azeri sources. “In the near future, an important document - a document on energy security - will be signed between the European Union and Azerbaijan, which will raise our cooperation to a higher level,” said President Ilham Aliyev.
IPN reported that Moldova will be able to purchase gas using the EU’s common platform and possibly from Azerbaijan. Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, said that the discussions with Azerbaijan continued so as to create the possibility of buying natural gas from this country. “It is important that different Azeri and Romanian energy projects are being considered. The equation also includes the Iasi – Ungheni – Chisinau gas pipeline, which is a Romanian investment in the Republic of Moldova that should be put to good use,” stated the official.
Special commission’s recommendations concerning oil products market
The Competition Council by July 31 will present the results of the investigation into possible cartel agreements in the oil products sector. Also, the National Agency for Energy Regulation (NAER) will present the proposal for developing an organized market for selling wholesale the main standard-type oil products to the Parliament’s commission on economy, budget and finance within a month. Such recommendations were formulated in the report produced by the special commission for examining the efficiency of the application of regulations in the oil products sector.
