● MONDAY, January 29
“Moldova’s Post Office” says it conducted no poll through social networking sites
The state-run company “Moldova’s Post Office” notified the Prosecutor General’s Office of an alleged poll conducted by it by which the respondents are informed that they won mobile devices. In a response to IPN, the company’s administration said “Moldova’s Post Office” does not carry out such polls and this is evidently a fake one. “This fraudulent scheme implies the use of a spam procedure, through a manipulating message sent with the aim of making persons to purchase dubious devices. We were notified of this cheating method last weekend. To protect the clients of “Moldova’s Post Office”, we informed publicly that this is a fake contest and insistently asked them to avoid such a message,” the institution says in its response. In this connection, “Moldova’s Post Office” specified that it does not organize contests/polls on other websites or social networking sites.
● TUESDAY, January 30
Transfers from Israel are larger than those from Italy, where there are more Moldovans
The cash transfers to Moldova from countries where there is a relatively low number of working Moldovans, such as Israel, are larger than those from Italy, where the number of Moldovans is ten times higher. At the end of 2017, transfers from Italy to private individuals in Moldova totaled US$ 74.5 million, as opposed to transfers of 106.7 million from Israel. Economic journalist Vlad Bercu explained that a part of the Moldovans who went to Italy settled there and reunified their families and no longer transfer such large amounts as earlier. In the program “15 minutes of economic realism”, produced by the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” and Radio Free Europe, Vlad Bercu said that even if remittances amount to billions of dollars (US$1.2bn in 2017), only a part of this money is invested in the economy. In the absence of analyses, it is hard to say how the money received by the population from abroad is spent.
Premier Filip invites investors from United Arab Emirates to come to Moldova
Moldova is interested in stimulating the relations between entrepreneurs from Moldova and the United Arab Emirates, including by starting companies with joint capital, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said in a meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. According to the Government’s press service, Pavel Filip invited the investors from the United Arab Emirates to come to Moldova, noting that reforms have been done in the country to support the development of the business community. He reminded that Moldova has a Free Trade Agreement with the EU and Turkey, which are important markets.
USAID launches Moldova Structural Reform Program
During four years, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will support the continuous integration of Moldova into the regional and world trading systems within the Moldova Structural Reform Program. The value of the program launched on January 30 is US$11 million. In the launch, Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Kiril Gaburici said that the Moldova Structural Reform Program can provide assistance in promoting reforms aimed at improving the business climate and in making Moldova attractive for foreign investment. It is also important to lay the basis of digital trade and digital economy and the government is ready to make the necessary legislative amendments. For his part, U.S. Ambassador in Chisinau James Pettit said the launched program forms part of the cooperation between USAID and Moldova and is designed to contribute to a more open, more inclusive and more competitive national economy centered powerfully on the private sector and adjusted to the modern trade rules.
● WEDNESDAY, January 31
Capital investment costs larger than last year
A sum of 3.527 billion lei was planned for financing capital investments in the 2018 state budget, 52.2% of this sum being the contribution of projects supported with foreign funds. A sum of 127 million lei was earmarked for building the Ungheni – Chisinau gas pipeline. Also, there will be reconstructed the Palanca customs post and modernized the infrastructure of the Leuseni customs office and the Sculeni, Giurgiulesti and Costesti customs posts. Sanitary facilities will be built at 23 customs posts. In the sector managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, financing will be provided for building a controlled atmosphere storehouse for the state commission for testing types of plants and a storehouse for keeping agricultural products and machinery for the same commission. It is also planned to construct a number of residential complexes, to implement the Road Program, to renovate the Emergency Admissions Unit of the Emergency Medicine Institute, to repair the sports complex of the State Teacher Training University “Ion Creanga”, the Music and Drama Theater “B.P Hasdeu” of Cahul and other important facilities. The capital costs in the national public budget for 2018, taking into account the investments planned by the local public authorities, will total 6.144 billion lei, up 5% on 2017. The capital costs will represent 14.9% of the GDP, as opposed to 11.4% in 2017.
Moldova ranked 33rd in Open Budget Index
Moldova got a score of 58 out of 100 and was placed 33rd among 115 states in the Open Budget Index in which it was included first in 2017. The central government transparency rankings are compiled by the international NGO Budget Partnership, while at the national level by the independent think tank “Expert-Grup”. “Expert-Grup” programs director Dumitru Budianschi said the Open Budget Survey covered the budget documents for 2015, 2016 and the draft budget for 2017. Moldova’s budget transparency score is by 16 points higher than the global average of 42 points. This result shows that the country offers limited budget information, as does Slovakia and Poland (59), outstripping yet Ukraine (54) and Hungary (46), but being surpassed by Romania (75 out of 100).
There are preconditions for reducing gas tariffs, PM
There are preconditions for reducing the tariffs of the natural gas supplied to end-users, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said in the opening of the January 31 meeting of the Cabinet, noting that such a conclusion was reached as a result of analyses in meetings with officials of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. “The National Agency for Energy Regulation opened consultations and started to examine the presented analyses and will soon make public its decision,” stated the Premier. He added that after the Agency presents its decision, the extra money paid by consumers since the start of this year will be refunded or used to pay for future consumption. Energy experts said the gas tariffs should be reduced by 30%, to 4.2 lei per cubic meter of natural gas. Currently, household users pay 6.3 lei per cubic meter of gas, including VAT.
“Made in Moldova” exhibition opened
The 27th exhibit “Made in Moldova”, which is traditionally staged by the Chamber of Trade and Industry under the auspices of the Government of Moldova, was inaugurated at the exhibitions center “Moldexpo” on January 31 and will continue until February 4. The event brought together 427 national companies and businessmen from the partner-states, such as Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Italy (with stand of Moldovan-Italian companies), and Iran. “Made in Moldova” distinguished itself as an efficient instrument for promoting the accomplishments of Moldovan companies and an event that supports national producers. The presence of so many companies shows that the business entities have confidence in this promotion possibility,” said the director of the Chamber of Trade and Industry Sergiu Harea. “The theme of the exhibition is “Made in Moldova, Made for You”. This means that it is intended not only for the local consumers, but also for the over 500 million consumers from the market of the EU states, where business entities from Moldova sell their products,” stated the diplomat. Peter Michalko noted that the EU, by different programs, supports to SMEs and enterprises that enter the market and aim to improve the quality of the supplied products. Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Kiril Gaburici said continuing to increase the quality of products and services and efficiency in production is a key objective of the Moldovan businesses.
Mayors will no longer go to treasuries to submit payment statements
The mayors will no longer go to treasuries to present payment statements. These could be submitted online, Minister of Finance Octavian Armas was quoted by IPN as saying in a news conference. “The distance that the mayors had to cover to file payment statements to regional treasuries is long. To free the mayors from this burden, it was decided that the statements to treasuries will be submitted online. The given treasury will interact with the bank and the mayors will collect the cash at the branch where they are served,” stated Octavian Armasu. The minister called on the mayors to switch overt to the electronic payment system that significantly simplifies the administrative process. In this connection, Octavian Armasu reminded that the electronic procurement process was launched, for no for low-value purchases only. The procurement of average- and high-value purchases will be tested by summer. “We already finished the testing of electronic signing of contracts and will instruct the central and local authorities what they should do to sign contracts online. After the contract is sent in an electronic format to the treasury, it will be registered. The process will be monitored from office and all the information will reach the central database and was published for all those who supervise the public procurement process,” said the minister.
Vehicles transporting less than 10 tonnes could cross Gura Bicului-Bychok bridge
The vehicles with a capacity of under 10 tonnes could cross the Gura Bicului-Bychok road bridge over the Nistru. This way the length of international passenger and freight routes will decrease by almost 50 and direct access will be ensured to the localities in Transnistria, with reference to the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. The decision was taken in a meeting of the joint group of experts on transport and road infrastructure with a view to fluidizing the transportation of freight and persons and facilitating the connection between the two banks of the Nistru. The necessary traffic signs were already installed there. The Gura Bicului-Bychok bridge in Anenii Noi district was reopened to traffic on November 18, 2017. This was destroyed as a result of bombardments during the military conflict of 1992 and was reconstructed in 2002 with European funds, but wasn’t put into commission immediately owing to technical glitches.
● THURSDAY, February 01
Moldova to invest 122.5m lei in green economy during next three years
The Cabinet approved the program to promote the green economy for 2018-2020 and the plan of action for implementing this. The program is designed to improve the country’s energy efficiency and the share of energy obtained from renewable sources of energy, to expand ecological farming and to increase exports of organic products. Among other objectives are to promote the principles of green urbanism, to strengthen the public procurement system and to include ecological education and education for sustainable development in the programs of education institutions. The program will be implemented at a cost of about 122.5 million lei. The money will be allocated from the state budget and through other financing mechanisms.
Center for Information Technology in Finance to be set up
The Cabinet decided to create a Center for Information Technology in Finance, which will be a public institution, by reorganizing the state-run enterprise “Fintehinform”. At another stage, the Center will absorb the state-run enterprises “Fiscservinform” and “Vamservinform”. Minister of Finance Octavian Armasu said the reorganizations are aimed at improving the efficiency of the activity of the central public administration and of services and at reducing the costs of these.
Agricultural producers invited to submit applications for subsidies as from Feb. 1
Starting with February 1, agricultural producers can file applications to get subsidies for 2018, director of the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA) Nicolae Ciubuc stated in a news conference. A sum of 900 million lei was planned in the state budget for the national agriculture and rural development fund. The outstanding 1,500 applications submitted last year, for subsidies totaling 220 million lei, will be satisfied the first. A sum of 46 million lei will be transferred to the vine and wine fund. Thus, the remaining sum of 633 million lei will go to pay subsidies this year. As to the subsidization priorities, the AIPA director said these will include the areas with high value added. Subsidies will be allocated for enhancing competitiveness by modernizing production, planting orchards and vineyards, developing the post-harvest infrastructure, sustainably managing the natural resources and building important facilities in rural areas.
28 of 51 measures stipulated in roadmap were carried out, “Expert-Grup”
Of the 51 measures defined in the priority reform action roadmap of the Government and Parliament for July – December 2017, only 28 were implemented. Ten of these 28 were carried out incompletely, while 22 or 43% of the total measures were initiated, but not finished. The monitoring report was presented by experts on February 1. According to the executive director of the independent think tank “Expert-Grup” Adrian Lupusor, the deadlines were not respected because the set calendar targets were too ambitious. The effects of the Government reform generally affected the pace of reforms and the pace of implementing the measures stipulated in the roadmap. Despite the short-term effects, the roadmap in the long run can serve as an efficient planning instrument. In the future, the government should focus on the reformation of the strategic planning framework. The existence of particular roadmaps could be justified only if these make reference to the existing sector strategies.
Cultivation of hemp will be allowed in Moldova, bill
A draft Government decision proposed for public debates on particip.gov.md enables to cultivate hemp for extracting fiber, biomass, oil and for manufacturing food and pharmaceuticals products. An authorization will be required for cultivating this plant. The informative note to the bill says the use of solutions offered by nature can help promote a healthy lifestyle. In the past, hemp provided the people with food, vegetal oil, clothes, antiseptic and ecological materials for building homes. “Industrial hemp is the plant that can undoubtedly ensure the national energy independence and sustainable rural development in the mainly agrarian countries, such as the Republic of Moldova. The industrial hemp has special industrial and horticultural potential,” says the informative note. If the processing of hemp is developed for fiber and seeds, Moldova will become a supplier and exporter of derivative products that are in increasing demand on the global market, such as pharmaceutical and food products, textiles, and others.
● FRIDAY, February 02
Marian Lupu: Moldova should have free trade agreements with more partners
The Republic of Moldova should have free trade agreements with as many interested partners as possible, head of the Democratic parliamentary group Marian Lupu stated in the talk show “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel. According to him, Moldova’s economy is oriented to export. The more the country exports, the greater is the contribution to production growth and to the rise in the number of jobs. Thus, if the economy of a state is based on export, this state cannot be closed to the other markets. Marian Lupu reiterated that since Moldova became a member of the World Trade Organization in 2001, the average customs tariff when entering the country has been of 6%. Thus, the level of protecting the market is very low. “The decline from 6% to 0% is practically not felt by the economy as it is a very low level. That’s why I plead for signing more free trade agreements as this will definitely favor the producers, enterprises and all those who work for these,” stated the MP.
European support for improving normative quality infrastructure framework
The European Union will assist the Republic of Moldova in strengthening the legal and normative quality infrastructure and market surveillance frameworks in accordance with the European standards, in the context of the implementation of the Association Agreement that includes the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). A relevant project was launched on February 2. The EU project is designed to assist Moldovan business entities to increase competitiveness by improving the quality of production and promoting exports and by better marketing and management. Seventy-five companies viable for export will be supported in this regard. The Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure will be assisted to implement communication actions in the fields of quality infrastructure and market surveillance and to promote the conditions and opportunities of the domestic and foreign markets. The Consumer Protection Agency will be helped to improve its institutional capacities for better surveying the market. The project will last for three years, from September 2017 until August 2020.
Many popular dairy products contain vegetable fats over norm, study
A study shows that the milk fats in a large number of dairy products sold in Moldova are substituted with fats of other origins. The study, initiated by East Europe Foundation and carried out in the labs of the Center for Applied Metrology and Certification, analyzed 126 samples of domestic and imported dairy products collected in shops of different formats, firm kiosks, up to supermarkets. There were chosen mainly high-fat products. One fourth of the specimens that included such products as butter, sour cream, cheese and pressed cheese failed the test. Under the current norms, the non-milk fats must not exceed 5% of all the fats contained in a milk product. Acceding to the study, the leading national dairy producer JLC is also a leader by the number of samples where the fats of vegetable origin exceeded a lot the norm - in the “domestic” cow cheese by 6% (95.8%), while in granulated cow cheese “Faguras” – 5% (93.2%). In the cheese “Grauncior”, the fats of foreign origin represented 89.31%, while in the product “Gingasie” – 89%.
● SATURDAY, February 03
U.S. assistance to Moldova is designed to develop democracy, opinion
The financial assistance provided by the Republic of Moldova to the United States of America is designed to increase the level of democracy, economic expert Veaceslav Ionita stated in the program “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel. The expert noted that the assistance aimed at transforming the country has been the most important thing in the relations with the U.S. during the past 20 years. From economic viewpoint, Moldova holds no interest for the U.S. Exports and imports between the two states stand at 2%. “As regards the financial assistance that we receive from the United States, this represents 20-25%,” said Veaceslav Ionita. Analyst Anatol Taranu said the Republic of Moldova is attentively monitored by the politicians from Washington. Anatol Taranu also said that besides economic assistance, the U.S. provided enormous political assistance to the Republic of Moldova.
Estonian Government donates mobile incinerator for animal byproducts
The National Food Safety Agency received a mobile incinerator for animal byproducts from the Government of Estonia. In the handover event, the Agency’s director Gheorghe Gaberi said the Republic of Moldova annually needs to process almost 15,000 tonnes of animal byproducts, but does not have a specialized company. Therefore, the mobile incinerator is a welcome and necessary donation. This has a burning capacity of 10 tonnes of raw material a day and makes technical oils and flour from waste, which can be later supplied to companies that produce biological fuel and electric power.
Dairy producers in Moldova use vegetable fats to obtain cheaper finished products
In the Republic of Moldova, they consume more milk than it is produced. That’s why the dairy producers use vegetable fats in production. If they import animal fats, the finished milk products will be more expensive. Nutritionist Sergiu Munteanu stated for the website sănătate.info that large quantities of hydrogenated vegetable fats are imported. These are used to give the impression that the products contain the indicated quantities of fats. According to Sergiu Munteanu, if producers start to import animal fats, the price of butter will double. According to the nutritionist, to improve the quality of the milk produced in Moldova, the state should decide its role in this field of agriculture, while the milk collecting and processing companies should adjust production processes to the EU standards. The investments in developing the field are very important.
