Activity of the President on December 17–30, 2007

Decrees

Moldova’s president has signed a decree which declares 2008 as the Year of the Youth. Under the presidential decree, the Government will create by January 25, 2008 a national commission in charge with holding actions dedicated to the Year of the Youth, which will work out an action programme on the Year of the Youth within one month, jointly with central and local public authorities and nongovernmental youth organisations. The executive will identify the funds needed for the actions dedicated to the Year of the Youth and will take the necessary measures to implement them.

Under a presidential decree, Valentin Dediu was relieved from the post of deputy director of the Information and Security Service without a formal motivation.

Sittings. Decisions. Statements

Preoccupations with local public fund system

Moldovan president has chaired a sitting on the draft law concerning local public funds, worked out accordingly to European norms and studied by European organisations. Vladimir Voronin appreciated the high quality of the document, but noted the opportunity of editing and conceptual changes. The president called for the improvement of the law in order to ensure an optimal legal framework of the process of mobilisation and use of funds at level of administrative territorial units on basis of the local autonomy principle. The law is expected to ensure a transparent, fair and balanced local public fund system, he stressed. Also, participants in the sitting discussed the internal auditing of local public funds, underlining the importance of exactly establishing the procedure of organisation and conduct of internal control. The Government will finalise the draft law on local public funds within one month and half and experts of European organisations will make an expertise of this document.

Trademark protection mechanisms

The chief of state has convoked a sitting on protection of Moldovan trademarks, with participants sharing opinions regarding further actions of Moldovan authorities aimed to maintain the property right of Moldova on the Bely Aist brand. A Russian company claims the rights on this brand because this product has not been sold in Russia for three years. Vladimir Voronin instructed competent governmental officials to take operative measures accordingly to international norms and standards, in order to protect the Bely Aist brand and maintain the exclusive right of Moldova on this brand. The Government was asked to work out and implement a mechanism to protect all Moldovan trademarks.

Support for young specialists from villages

Vladimir Voronin has recommended the Government to consider possibilities of granting credits to young specialists who will agree to work in villages after graduation. According to the chief of state, the credits would be worth 200,000–300,000 lei and they would be released to young specialists to build houses, and the state would cover the bank interests. At the same time, in order to improve the demographic situation, it was proposed to reduce certain percent rates on credits for families of young specialists who give birth to children. Voronin noted that demographic problems and better lives of Moldovan citizens should be priorities, in particular, because a serious shortage of labour force is expected in all areas the next years (according to the president, the medium salary on economy shall account for 300 dollars in 2009 and 500 euros after 2009).

Totals of Government’s work

Vladimir Voronin has told the last governmental sitting this year that restructuring the central apparatus is a primordial task for 2008, raising dissatisfaction with the delayed implementation of the central public administration reform. Elsewhere, Voronin indicated the need of implementing in 2008 a package of laws on liberalisation of economy, in order to intensify the economic activity inside the country and boost investments in national economy.

Interviews and statements delivered to mass media

The president has stated to the TV channel Euronews that the stable relations and important economic interests with the Russian Federation do not contravene to the European integration course chosen by Moldova. Vladimir Voronin noted that Moldova does not have divergences with the Russian Federation regarding the European vector of Chisinau. Speaking about the Moldova-European Union Action Plan, the chief of state stated that Moldovan authorities shall focus on the judiciary reform, human rights and anti-corruption fight. He added that the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict depends inclusively on the result of negotiations between great powers, the Russian Federation and the United States.

The Moldovan president tackled interior and foreign policy issues at a December 19 news conference, stating among others that:

The unprecedented drought has affected the most the economic development of the country in 2007, and it had a serious impact on economic growth;
It is clearer now that the vulnerability of the Moldovan agriculture, its dependence on weather are consequences of the failure to apply modern technologies in this sector of economy;
Investments have grown by 28 percent, the planned indicators of the budget have been exceeded by more than one billion lei, salaries have increased by about 22 percent (by 10 percent in a real expression), the trend of lowering the inflation rate is evident, and the rise pace of exports has reached the rise pace of imports;
Roads have been actively built and new infrastructure development projects have been implemented (the gas pipe Tocuz-Cainari-Mereni, the motorway Leuseni-Chisinau, the construction of the Cahul-Giurgiulesti railway, intense works on the Orhei-Rezina and Hincesti-Cimislia-Comrat highways);
Moldova is on the threshold of an investment boom;
The format of relations with Russia and CIS has been modified; these ties have become true partnership relations, not simply pragmatic;
The European modernisation of Moldova within the Moldova-EU Action Plan has become a very important stimulant and a factor for internal reforms;
Moldova will not have faults in implementing the Moldova-EU Action Plan and it will not extend the implementation term of this document after February 2008;
Vladimir Voronin said that there are some versions of the further cooperation with the EU;
The complete economic liberalisation has been promoted (registration of enterprises with a single one-stop-shop, reduction of competences of control bodies, the two guillotines, capital amnesty, fiscal amnesty and introduction of the zero tax on benefit on January 1, 2008);
There are problems linked to the legal system, competence of public functionaries, but they can be settled;
The Moldova-Romanian case is being studied by the EU, this being now a problem of relations between Romania and the EU, not of Moldova with Romania;
As regards the Transnistrian settlement, I can tell one thing only — in moral-psychological terms, the problem has already been settled in the mind by all key players;
The internal policy issue does not alarm much, the opposition is acting again in favour of the Party of Communists and the PCRM will repeat the 2001 success at parliamentary elections;
The state symbols will be revised, so that to reflect the independence and sovereignty of the country. In this regard, the Parliament will discuss soon a new symbol of Moldova.

Vladimir Voronin stated to the TV channel NIT (“Mai Ai Ceva De Spus” programme) on December 28 that the future relations between Moldova and EU will be discussed at a meeting with the European Commission president on January 14, 2008. Moldova’s president will visit Moscow on January 22, 2008 to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss the Transnistrian conflict. The EU and other states back Moldova’s stance on relations with Romania on a bilateral dimension. At the same time, Voronin considers that relations between the two countries will improve, so that they will become exemplary for European states inclusively. In the context, he called for an urgent signing of documents on relations between Romania and Moldova, in particular, the basic agreement and the border agreement. “The non-signing of these acts means in terms of international norms and other international legal norms that Romania did not recognise the Republic of Moldova as a sovereign and independent country so far,” Voronin added.

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