Political scientist Igor Volnițchi believes that the next visit of Prime Minister Maia Sandu should not build up expectations. The fact that the meeting takes places is the greatest accomplishment in itself. At the same time, Party for Action and Solidarity MP, Oazu Nantoi considers that the dialogue with the Russian Federation is necessary in order to solve issues based on mutual respect and respect for each other’s interests. The parliamentarian is not very optimistic about Russia's statements regarding the liquidation of ammunition in the Transnistrian region because, according to him, such talks have previously taken place, yet have not been successful.
The destruction or liquidation, in one way or another, of ammunition in the Transnistrian region should neither be a bilateral project between the Republic of Moldova and Russia nor a trilateral project between Chișinău-Tiraspol-Moscow, said political analyst Vladimir Socor, from the Jamestown Foundation from the United States. In his opinion, Russia can take advantage of the process of liquidation of ammunition in order to bring additional military personnel and equipment to the Transnistrian region under the pretext that these troops would work on the liquidation of ammunition. If the OSCE develops its own project for Cobasna ammunition, then it must be approved within the OSCE by Russia, which has the right to veto. Therefore, according to the analyst, only projects put forward by world powers as the United States can be channelled through the OSCE without Russia's participation. Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, also declared at a press conference that "the ammunition disposal process does not regard only Moldovan-Russian bilateral relations. It can only be done with the help of other international partners.”
The Republic of Moldova wants to return to an unrestricted trade regime with the Russian Federation, based on the CIS Free Trade Agreement, signed in 2012. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, this agreement is neither in contradiction with the Association Agreement nor with the European Union Free Trade Zone provisions. Only 8% of Moldova's exports went to Russia. Nicu Popescu believes that exports can grow and this growth is a priority that will serve the interest of Moldovan citizens.
The mayor of the village of Floreni, Anenii Noi, and a local councillor were detained in two criminal cases, started on the fact of passive corruption and traffic of influence. The two are suspected of claiming 350 thousand lei from a local businessman to legalize a land plot that has been in his use for several years. The money was given in three instalments, under the CNA control. According to the effective legislation, if found guilty, they risk a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
A MONEYVAL report, the anti-money laundering body of the Council of Europe, shows that Moldova faces various money laundering threats mainly deriving from corruption, tax evasion and smuggling committed internally and drugs trafficking and human trafficking for crimes committed outside of the country. The report mentions high-level cases of money laundering, the "Russian laundromat" and "the theft of the billion" (called "Global Laundromat" and "Bank Fraud"), identified by the Moldovan authorities, with an overall growing trend for convictions. But although in the field of money laundering a wide range of investigations and actions are conducted, including with foreign actors and special investigative techniques, only a limited number of investigations led to criminal prosecutions, the report states.
While reforms in the economic and banking sector advanced during 2018, the fundamental structural reforms of the judicial system, the fight against corruption, the prosecution of the banking fraud and ensuring media plurality were lagging behind. This is the conclusion of the Annual Report on the implementation of the Association Agreement for July 2018 - July 2019. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, notes that the new Moldovan government has started an important reform plan to reinforce democracy and the rule of law in the country. “We expect the authorities to deliver on the commitments made and to implement the ambitious EU-Moldova Agreement, to the benefit of our citizens. As EU, we are ready to continue to accompany and support this work, because we value our friendship a lot”, said Federica Mogherini.
In the nearly 22 years since the Republic of Moldova became a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights has registered over 14,200 applications against Moldova. The most common types of violations found by the ECHR in Moldovan cases are non-execution of court decisions, ill-treatment, inadequate investigation of ill-treatment and deaths. Bad prison conditions and unlawful cancellation of irrevocable court decisions are also common. So far, the ECHR has rendered 420 judgments on Moldovan cases, of which 33 - in the first nine months of 2019. Between 2011-2016, the Court rejected over 8500 Moldovan requests without a clear reasoning.
All unionist parties must work together for the local elections, set for October 20. The dispersal of unionist forces is very harmful. The statement was made by Daniela Bodrug, vice president of People's Antimafia Movement, on TVR Moldova show "Punctul pe azi". First vice-president of National Unity Party, Ana Guțu, says that unity is impossible in the current political situation. Ion Cebanu, Liberal Party vice president, considers that a potential candidate for mayor would not achieve unification, but should rather take care of Chișinău's problems.
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