● MONDAY, June 30

 Farmers will have to joint together to cope with EU requirements, deputy minister 

In order to cope with the requirements of the Europeans, the agricultural producers will have to join together, considers Deputy Minister of Agriculture Gheorghe Gaberi. According to him, there are many small producers that will have to make considerable effort to enter the EU market. “In the agrarian sector, we will have to start a very active association process. The small producers will be unable to comply with the EU requirements, neither as regards the quality, nor as regards the quantity and the pace of supplies,” Gheorghe Gaberi said in a public discussion staged by the EU Delegation to Moldova on the occasion of the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU. He added that in this respect, Parliament adopted a law on groups of producers. There will be allocated European funds for the purpose.

● TUESDAY, July 1

Agricultural producers expect good harvest this year 

The agricultural producers anticipate that the harvest this year will be much better than last year. They expect to collect by 45 quintals of wheat, 24 quintals of rape and 36 quintals of barley per hectare. Farmers discussed their projections with Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, who paid a working visit to southern Moldova to see how the crops are being harvested. Iurie Leanca went to the agricultural company “Ghevlandri” in Vulcanesti, which sowed 960 hectares with wheat, 170 hectares with barley and 200 hectares with rape. He also visited a local nectarine orchard that is 26 hectares in area, a plum orchard and a vineyard.

● WEDNESDAY, July 2

Moldovan economic entities to be informed about free trade with EU 

The economic entities of Moldova will benefit from consultancy about the free trade with the European Union within a project launched by the Chamber of Trade and Industry with the support of the European Business Association. According to the Chamber’s head Gheorghe Cucu, it is not so easy to penetrate the European market as it seems, while the context created by the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) is not well known by companies. During seven months, there will be set up a system of permanent consultancy services through which the entrepreneurs, especially the representatives of small businesses, will be familiarized with practical aspects of the accord’s provisions.

More than 3,000 families bought homes with the help of AMIC 

During the 15 years of its foundation, the Chisinau Municipal Mortgage Agency AMIC has erected 51 apartment buildings, offering dwellings to about 3,000 families. The company’s director general Petru Pripa has told that all the buildings are constructed in compliance with the norms and requirements in the construction sector, by using building material of the highest quality and modern equipment and by taking into account the rather modest purchasing capacity of the population. Petru Pripa said that AMIC was created in the middle of the world economic crisis of 1998, when the problem of dwellings was very acute and the people still believed that the state was obliged to provide them with free homes, even in many years, as during the Soviet period.

● THURSDAY, July 3

Minimum salary will be 5.92 lei an hour from October 

Starting with October 1, the minimum official salary will be 1,000 lei for a working program of 169 hours on average a month, which is 5.92 lei per hour. Such a decision was taken by the Government on July 3. The minimum salary is modified following the improvement of the macroeconomic indicators and the greater financial possibilities. The modification is envisioned in the medium-term expenditure framework and the 2014 state budget law.

EU regrets Russia’s decision to ban Moldovan meat exports 

The European Union regrets the decision by the Russian authorities to ban a number of Moldovan meat exports on what is coincidentally the same day that the Moldovan Parliament ratified the EU-Moldova AA/DCFTA agreement, EU Trade spokesman John Clancy stated. The spokesman’s statement says the EU will be in contact with the Moldovan partners to gather the full facts surrounding this ban by the Russian authorities and looks forward to a very speedy resolution to this issue between Moscow and Chisinau in line with WTO rules.

● FRIDAY, July 4

 Gas Union Fenosa welcomes cooperation between Moldova and Eurelectric 

Gas Natural Fenosa welcomes the cooperation between Moldova and the Union of the Electricity Industry Eurelectric. It considers that transition to a liberalized market in Moldova can take place faster and more efficiently if the relevant experience of Europe is applied. On July 3-4, a delegation of Eurelectric has paid a fact-finding visit to Chisinau. The delegation’s goal was to inform themselves about the state of affairs in Moldova’s electricity sector with a view to establishing cooperation relations. Eurelectric secretary general Hans ten Berge told a news conference that now that Moldova signed the AA/DCFTA agreement, a powerful electricity regulator is needed to balance end-users’ interests and a favorable investment climate.

● SATURDAY,  July 5

Another 60 Moldovan companies to export fruit to Russia

Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance “Rosselhoznadzor” extended the list of Moldovan companies allowed to export fruit to Russia by 60 economic entities. Thus, the total number of Moldovan exporters of fruit to Russia rose to over 300. Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov has told that initially the discussions centered on over 50 fruit exporters. Last year, “Rosselhoznadzor” included 242 companies in the list and now extended it to over 300. “If we are correct, they are also correct and it is logical for those who do not obey the norms to be punished,” he stated.

Over 44,000 numbers ported in a year

As many as 44,720 numbers had been ported during a year, since telephone number portability became available in Moldova. Of them, 90% are mobile phone numbers, while 10% are fixed phone numbers, the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI) has said. Number portability enables users to keep their telephone numbers when they decide to change providers. ANRCETI Director Grigore Varanita said that as a result of the implementation of number portability, telephone users started to enjoy broader freedom of choice and increased capacity for negotiating with providers. Thus, the providers male effort to keep their customers and attract others by more convenient offers, at more reasonable prices.

Processed meat from Moldova banned in Russia

Moldova cannot export processed meat to Russia from July 5. The Russian authorities took such a decision after a Moldovan company supplied to Belarus 15 consignments of pork fat, 4 of which weren’t appropriately processed, the sanitary norms of the Customs Union being violated. According to a communiqué of Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance “Rosselhoznadzor”, the Moldovan producers will be unable to export processed meat to Russia, but they can export whole, halves and quarters of pork, cow, sheep and horse carcasses.