● TUESDAY, January 19

 Farmers in Ungheni district could lose winter crops because of lack of snow 

The lack of snow in Ungheni district worries the farmers from the region. These risk losing the winter crops owing to the very low temperatures as the plants are not protected by a layer of snow. Head of the Association of Grain Producers Nicanor Buzovoi has told that the dry wind affects the winter crops most of all. “The food plants in Ungheni district are in a bad state because no snow fell there. If the temperatures decrease further, to -15 and -20 degrees Celsius as it was forecast, the plants will not resist. They can now withstand at temperatures of - 5 -7 degrees Celsius,” stated Nicanor Buzovoi.

Civil society will monitor public procurement 

The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” on January 19 launched the project “Building of a transparent and sustainable public procurement system through a permanent monitoring process”. This way, the Institute, alongside other nongovernmental organizations, will monitor the purchases made by public institutions in nine northern, central and southern districts and in Gagauzia. Workshops will be staged in the given regions. “Viitorul” vice director Liubomir Chiriac said the public procurement process in Moldova witnesses major deficiencies. In an assessment by the EBRD, the institutional framework of the public procurement system was described as poorly compliant. “To overcome the problems faced in this process, we need to harmonize the legislation on government procurement with the EU acquis and build an efficient public procurement system, in accordance with the provisions of the Deep and Compressive Free Trade Agreement,” he stated.

● WEDNESDAY, January 20

Differing opinions about prospects of Filip Government 

Some of the MPs consider the Filip Government has chances to be a long-lasting one, while others think it will be a short-lived one even if it’s voted in. Contradictory opinions on the issue were stated in the program “Moldova live” on Moldova 1 channel. Liberal MP Veaceslav Untila said the citizens of Moldova will feel beneficial effects in half a year of the investiture of the Filip Government. “Pavel Filip has a rich experience. I discussed with him the government program, which is a very good one. I think in half a year the population will change its attitude to the government. We will have lower prices, including for energy resources,” he stated.

Bill to protect home market from imports 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry has drafted a bill that provides for the informing of consumers about foods products. The document defines the general principles, requirements and responsibilities that regulate the process of informing about the food products, especially as regards the labeling of these types of products. The Ministry said the bill was presented and discussed with representatives of associations of meat and dairy producers in a meeting. There was presented a plan of measures that will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the National Food Safety Agency and the Ministry of Economy. The National Food Safety Agency will intensify border control over imported products of animal origin.

Over 60% of informal employees want to receive salary fully officially, trade unions 

More than 60% of the informal employees are ready to any time ask the employer to be fully paid the salary officially, from which taxes and contributions would be deducted, shows a poll carried out by the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova. Over 65% of those surveyed are ready to insure themselves so as to benefit from the rights provided by the social insurance system. In a press release, the Confederation says the respondents are not motivated to contribute to the social security system because the payments for covering the social risks are very low. According to the Confederation, the system should be efficient, while the contributions to the state social insurance budget and health insurance funds must be paid by everyone in the required way.

41 new providers of public electronic communications networks and services 

A number of 41 economic entities were authorized to provide public electronic communications networks and services last year. Thus, the number of companies written on the Register of Providers in 2015 rose by 3% on 2014 to 547. Of the 41 companies, 25 chose to provide both public electronic communications networks and services, four only networks, whole 12 only services. The Internet access and audiovisual programs retransmission services were the most popular ones. As many as 19 and, respectively, 21 new providers were authorized to furnish such services.

Ukraine assures it does not hamper transportation of Russian products to Moldova 

The Russian products cannot cross the border to Moldova due strictly to technical problems and Ukraine does not intend to ban their access. The Embassy of Ukraine in Moldova said the situation will be soon remedied and the products will reach the destination, as until now. In a press release, the Embassy says that at the start of 2016, Ukraine introduced a series of bans on the import of Russian products in reaction to Moscow’s unilateral decision to violate the CIS Free Trade Agreement.

However, the Ukrainian authorities decided not to act as Russia and ordered not hampering the transportation of Russian products through the territory of Ukraine, especially because they take into account the economic interests of Moldova.

● THURSDAY, January 21

 New software intended for Moldovan producers 

Any economic entity will be able to collect the statistical data needed to take well-informed decisions about potential markets to which they could export products owing to the application Help Desk. This also offers the necessary information about the package of documents required for exporting. The software, created by the European Commission, was presented within a workshop designed for the producer groups that were recently set up within the MAC-P Project and other companies that want to export. The participants in the workshop were familiarized with the way the Help Desk application works and listened to the EU Delegation’s information on the implementation of the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

● FRIDAY, January 22

Fiscal system must be optimized, State Tax Inspectorate chief 

The fiscal system of the Republic of Moldova needs to be optimized, the head of the State Main Tax Inspectorate Ion Prisacaru stated in an interview. According to him, the reduction in the number of taxes is beneficial both for taxpayers and for the state. Prisacaru said that he recently took part in a training seminar staged by the World Bank. In this seminar, it was noted that nine of the taxes levied in Moldova ensure 99% of the amounts collected into the budget. “What is the efficiency of the other taxes and duties as we have over 100 taxes and what is the efficiency of that army of tax inspectors working at mayor’s offices. These form practically the second tax service that works in parallel with the State Tax Service. But who remands something from these. I never heard demands to be formulated for them,” said Prisacaru.

New rules concerning retirement of foreigners who move to Transnistria 

The so-called executive of Transnistria approved a bill providing that the foreign citizens who move to love in the region will retire at the age set in the state from where they come. Transnistrian social protection minister Elena Kulichenko argued that an increasing number of foreigners settle in Transnistria when they approach retirement because the retirement age in the region is lower – 55 years for women and 60 years for men. In such conditions, persons who didn’t work in the region and didn’t contribute to the local pension fund apply for old-age pensions there.

Veaceslav Negruta: There are now no chances for government to obtain accord with IMF 

The new Cabinet does not have now chances to obtain an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, considers ex-minister of finance Veaceslav Negruta. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, the former minister said nobody from the governmental team has the experience needed to have a dialogue with the IMF and this is the biggest problem. Veaceslav Negruta considers that the IMF will have a tough and categorical position with regard to Moldova because the previous experiences bothered the representatives of this organization. “But the fact that no one in the governmental team has the necessary experience for having a dialogue with those from the IMF is the biggest problem. There are persons who took part tangentially, but weren’t negotiators,” he stated.

Central bank blocks group of shareholders of Moldova-Agroindbank 

The Executive Committee of the National Bank of Moldova established that a group of shareholders of Moldova-Agroindbank acted concertedly with regard to this bank and purchased a substantial shareholding of the bank’s registered capital, in the amount of 3.53%, without obtaining the preliminary written consent of the National Bank. Therefore, the central bank blocked this group of shareholders. In a press release, the National Bank says that it asked the shareholders to comply with the provisions of the Law on Financial Institutions, which provides that the shareholders are obliged to return the substantial shareholding purchased without the preliminary consent of the National Bank, within three months, since December 23, 2015.

Gas tariffs for end-users could be decreased by 10% 

Prime Minister Pavel Filip said he asked to carry out a number of assessments to establish how the tariffs of different energy resources are determined. “We want to see if the tariffs paid by the people are correct and to what extent they reflect the reality,” the Premier said after a working meeting centering on the supply of natural gas and the delivery price of gas. The official said he received the results of two assessments concerning the tariffs for gas and oil products. “Councilors’ informative notes over these assessments inspire optimism about the possibility of decreasing the tariffs,” stated Pavel Filip. According to him, full transparency is needed as regards the setting of tariffs as the people who took to the streets ask for this.

● SATURDAY,  January 23

Ministry of Health suggests new mechanism for remunerating doctors 

The conditions of remunerating employees of public health facilities included in the mandatory health insurance system could be improved soon. The Ministry of Health proposed draft regulations concerning the new remuneration mechanism for public debates. The new mechanism is based on individual professional results in service, the quality of the work done and the contribution and professionalism of each employee. It is suggested that the salary of the given employees should consist of the fixed part of the salary, the variable part and other salary norms and guarantees, which include bonuses for working in unfavorable conditions, and the lump sum in financial assistance provided to employees once a year. The Ministry of Health said that when the mandatory health insurance system was implemented in the Republic of Moldova, the approved method of setting salaries in the health system was based not on the common tariff network, but on the principles of remunerating employees working for units with financial autonomy. This mechanism has been used for over 10 years and the regular adjustments do not cope with the requirements and development needs of the health system at the current stage.

Prices of oil products are expected to decrease 

The prices of oil products will most probably decrease over the next few days, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said after a meeting with representatives of oil companies held in the Government Building. The Premier said that they discussed the problems faced by the oil companies and the calculation of tariffs according to a new methodology that is to be put into practice after it is approved by the National Agency for Energy Regulation. “I hope that after a throughout analysis, we will see concrete results, in several days. The prices will most probably decrease, but I will not make forecasts because each company has its own calculations,” said Pavel Filip.