The former National Bank governor Dorin Drăguţanu is passing the buck onto the Government for what happened in 2014 when roughly $1B vanished from the Moldovan banking system. This was stated by Alexandru Slusari, chair of the parliamentary inquiry commission investigating the bank fraud, following hearings on Tuesday. “He had an explanation for everything he did. That’s fine. But how come we ended up with that one billion dollar hole? Too bad he didn’t have the instruments,” commented Slusari on the former NBM governor’s testimony.
The last few weeks witnessed a change to the better in the quality of the relations with the foreign partners, especially of those with the European Union, which is the main development partner of the Republic of Moldova. Some of the politicians consider the relations with the EU were blocked because of the former government and appreciate the efforts made by the current government to restore these in a rather short period of time. The subject was discussed in a public debate entitled “Resetting of relations with the EU: motives, chances, guarantees” that was organized by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova. In this connection, ACUM Bloc MP Dumitru Alaiba said the relations with the EU worsened because of corruption and the state capture. The destruction of democracy in Moldova wasn’t due to authoritarian visions or beliefs. This was a necessity of the previous government, first of all for surviving. “When you steal a US$ 1 billion and employ a multitude of corruption schemes, when you see that society is effectively against you and the people mobilize against you, take to the streets and form coalitions, different organizations, etc., you understand that if you lose power, you will find yourself in jail, not in the opposition,” he stated. The MP considers not only the EU’s financial assistance is principal and decisive, but also the involvement of the European institutions in investigating cases of corruption. The money stolen from Moldova reached the EU and was used to finance all kinds of activities. It is in the EU’s interest to become more actively and more directly involved in the investigation of cases of corruption. The EU can impose personal sanctions against those involved in cases of corruption, can block their assets in EU countries, can sequestrate, confiscate and repatriate property.
Igor Boțan, standing expert of the project “Developing political culture through public debates”, implemented by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova, said everyone expects the European Union to provide not only financial support, but also rules that would allow the private businesses all over the world to come with investments so that the Republic of Moldova has value added on what it produces. The expert considers the government coalition’s good intentions in relation to the EU are guaranteed by the fear not to repeat the fate of the previous parties that launched the integration into the EU and failed on the way. “The parties that ruled, the four parties that set off on the path of European integration, are in a difficult situation. Some of their leaders are in an unenviable situation. One leader is in jail, another one fled the country. I think the fear of the revenge of those who were in power can be a kind of guarantee,” stated Igor Boțan.
The Ministry of Justice has announced the launch of the process of drafting a bill on the reformation of the Supreme Court of Justice. Proposals can be sent to the email address victor.stratu@justice.gov.md by August 1. The bill will be designed with the aim of improving the quality of justice, strengthening the independence and individual responsibilities of judges and ensuring a unitary practice at the Supreme Court of Justice. It will envision the reduction in the number of judges at this court, assessment of the current judges, examination of cases pending at the Supreme Court of Justice and transfer of judges of this court to hierarchically inferior courts of law.
The participants in public hearings on the bill to annul the mixed electoral system and to restore the party-list proportional representation system that were staged by the Parliament’s legal commission for appointments and immunities reached the conclusion that an election threshold of 4% for political parties, of 6% for electoral blocs and of 1% for independent candidates should be instituted. The leader of the Party “Democracy at Home” Vasile Costiuc voiced hope that the proposals to decrease the election threshold will find support in Parliament. He noted this will be a stimulus for the extraparliamentary parties and the independent candidates who want to become involved in the political life of the country.
The Government plans to cancel tax exemptions enjoyed by the gambling business and public-private partnerships, and annul tax-exempt meal vouchers, among other fiscal measures designed to balance the State Budget. Deficit-wise, one problem highlighted by Finance Minister Natalia Gavriliţa at a press conference, was the adoption of the Law Salary at the end of last year without an accurate estimate of the number of budget sector employees. Gavriliţa says this has resulted in 1 billion lei in extra spending over what was originally planned. Further, the Ministry of Finance plans to backtrack on the 10% reduced VAT rate for the hospitality industry, and increase the excise tax on fine-cut tobacco. The construction of a new prison on Chisinau’s outskirts and the implementation of the project “Reform in Education” will be postponed until 2020.
The European Commission has resumed budget support assistance to Moldova by disbursing €14.54 million to support the implementation of the EU-Moldova free trade agreement, finance vocational education and assist the implementation of the visa liberalization action plan. Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said the package is a clear sign of the EU support to the Republic of Moldova and its citizens and is also an appreciation of the steps already taken and an encouragement to the authorities to continue on this path in particular when it comes to the strengthening of the rule of law and democracy, and fight against corruption.
Moldovan bus crews and truck drivers engaged in passenger and cargo transportation, respectively, in Ukraine will be allowed to stay in the neighboring county for a total 180 days every six months. The Moldovan Minister of Economy and Infrastructure says this is a result of the entry into effect of a protocol on international road communications signed with the Ukrainian Government in October 2018.
The two-party bloc ACUM is likely to pick a common candidate to contest the Chisinau mayoral election in October. This was confirmed to reporters by Maia Sandu, the president of the component party PAS. When asked whether the bloc was considering fielding a candidate in concert with PSRM, too, Sandu replied ACUM was not coordinating its decisions with the Socialists.
WatchDog expert Valeriu Pașa said the upcoming local elections are very unimportant from political and symbolical viewpoints. He noted the local elections are expected to be a big failure for the Democratic Party.
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