Metro supermarkets in Chisinau unite Moldova and Transnistria, German press

The Metro supermarkets in Chisinau join Moldova and Transnistria, says the Financial Times Deutschland. The paper says that the residents of the rights bank of the Nistru and those from Transnistria that can afford go shopping in the two cash and carry stores in Chisinau. According to the paper, Transnistrians’ problem is not the “border” crossing procedure, but their reduced purchase capacity. Moldova, the Financial Times Deutschland reads, is the poorest state in Europe. "We have good bread in Transnistria, but the best place for shopping for the ones that have money is Chisinau," a journalist in Tiraspol told the German paper. "We do not hate each other. The politicians are separating us,” he said. The paper also says that Evgheni Shevchuk, a leader of the legislative body of the breakaway republic of Transnistria, exerts a growing pressure on the president of Transnistria Igor Smirnov. Shevchuk supports the largest local business group Sherrif. Moldova became an eastern neighbour of the EU, when Romania joined the Union. More supermarkets will be needed to join Moldova and the West, the Financial Times Deutschland said.