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Activity of the Government on June 30 – July 20, 2003

|print version|mail| e-journal #11 |

Personnel changes

Raisa Apolschii was appointed Parliamentary Attorney, and Nicolai Kalin was appointed Head Administrator of the Chisinau Free Trade Area. Nicolae Cernomaz, Moldova’s Ambassador to Ukraine, according to a governmental decision, will cumulate the position of Ambassador to Georgia.

Decisions

In issue no. 9 of the E-journal we reported that following the signature of a Protocol between the customs offices of Moldova and Ukraine, whereby the Ukrainian authorities undertook to recognise only the customs stamps of Chisinau, the Government decided to allow the economic agents from the left side of Nistru River to register provisionally with the State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Moldova to facilitate their import-export operations. This requirement was qualified by the Transdnistrian leaders as an “economic blockade” as well as an attempt to “acquire Transdnistrian property in order to privatise it later”. Moreover, the Tiraspol leaders have threatened that they will withdraw from the negotiation process and will apply a “complex of measures in reply to the adverse moves of Moldova”. Under these circumstances, the Government of the Republic of Moldova has issued a statement in which it argues for the need to introduce the above procedure and deplores the non-constructive attitude of Tiraspol, which is being blamed for misinterpreting the essence of actions took by Chisinau. In response, the Tiraspol administration introduced on 14 July 2003 a customs tax worth 100% of the price on all goods imported from Moldova. The Ministry of Economy of Moldova declared this decision of Tiraspol as one which is not founded on economic motives given that the deliveries from Transdnistria are internal rather than of import and one that will affect negatively the negotiation process. Later the Chisinau officials decided to provide new facilities for the registration of economic agents from Tiraspol who are engaged in import-export operations and have pleaded for cancelling the 20% value added tax on goods delivered from Transdnistria.

The Government instructed ministries, departments, local public authorities etc. to ensure the efficient preparation of the national economy for the winter season. According to this decision, during one week, special commissions are to be set up in municipalities and districts, which will be responsible for the supply of energy and heat and ensure a rigorous control over consumption. The decision also provides that the electric and thermal energy and natural gas will be supplied to consumers on the basis of contracts and only to those who have paid off their consumption debts.

The Government approved the draft law on the amendment and additions to the 2003 State Budget Law, which provide for an increase of revenues by 635.5 million lei and of expenditure by 163.3 million lei. Most of the revenues to the budget will originate from the extra payments of the VAT by 299 million lei, an increase in non-fiscal payments by 63 million lei, of fines and sanctions by 25 million lei, and from grants worth 303 million lei, negotiated with the EU, the Netherlands and Sweden. At the same time, the returns from excises will drop by 118 million lei, and the revenues from the privatisation of certain economic units — by 636.7 million lei. Thus, it is to be mentioned that the budget deficit will be 298.2 million lei, which is 97.2 million lei more than initially foreseen, and the amount foreseen for paying off foreign loans will increase by 608.5 million lei this year, and reach 1, 354 million lei, while the internal state debt has risen by 785.9 million lei, reaching 3,616.4 million lei. These figures show that the GDP is on rise not due to an increase in local production, but as a result of massive imports, and that upon the drafting of the 2003 budget the revenues from privatisation have been overestimated.

On 9 July 2003, the Government decided to merge the National Agency for Regulation of Energy and the National Agency for Regulation of Telecommunications and Information Technology into the National Agency for the Protection and Development of Competitiveness, and at the same time suspended the former’s decision to increase, as of 1 July, the fees on electricity and natural gas. The merged institution might reconsider the fees on communal services in one month, during which time the regulations for the activity of the new agency are to be worked out.

The Government decided to apply for 200 as of 1 August 2003 an anti-dumping tax worth 40% on sugar imports. The move was requested by the State Authority for Anti-dumping Measures, which followed up on a request by the union of Associations of Agricultural Producers “Uniagroprotect” and the Union of Sugar Producers. According to another government decision, the economic agents have been obliged to apply by 1 January 2004 to the field offices of the State Registration Chamber for a Single State Registration Code. This measure is intended to manage adequately the data on the activity of the Moldovan economic agents.

June 16–29, 2003 July 21 – August 3, 2003