{"id":443391,"date":"2017-02-05T15:39:50","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T15:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=443391"},"modified":"2017-02-05T15:39:50","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T15:39:50","slug":"moldova-weekly-news-digest-5-february-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/moldova-weekly-news-digest-5-february-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Moldova Weekly News Digest, 5 February 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 6<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

-On February 2nd, the Moldovan President Igor Dodon proposed<\/a> to make the date of February 2nd the day of Statehood Day of Moldova. As a true Moldovenist, he argues that the date is important for the Moldovan statehood- on 2 February 1365, the Moldovan Principality was founded by Bogdan I. Moreover, Dodon wants the old flag of the Principality to be established as an official symbol of the Republic of Moldova.\u00a0The historian Octavian \u021a\u00eecu commented\u00a0that the Statehood Day proposed by Dodon would be an aberration, because the origin of the Moldovan state is uncertain and because Romania is the true heir of the Moldovan principality, resulting from the 1859 Union, while the current territory of Republic of Moldova was annexed by the Russian Empire.<\/p>\n

Dodon also awarded 5 public persons with the order of \u201cBogdan, the Founder\u201d: Vladimir Curbet- Head master of the National Folk Dance Group \u201cJoc\u201d; Eva Gudumac- University professor, Doctor of Medicine, member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova; Leonid Talmaci- Former Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, who was previously proposed by Dodon\u2019s Socialists\u2019 Party for another term; Valentin Beniuc- University professor, Doctor of Political Sciences, announced his support for\u00a0Dodon during the Presidential elections with other historians from association \u201cPro Moldova\u201d; Viorel Mihail- writer, editor of \u201cS\u0103pt\u0103m\u00eena\u201d newspaper, praised Dodon during the Presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

President Dodon said that the awards for these persons are for exception merits in \u201cdeveloping and consolidating the statehood of the Republic of Moldova\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

-Moldova President Dodon discussed with Russian MPs on cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union.\u00a0On January 30th, the President of Moldova, Igor Dodon, had a meeting<\/a> with a delegation of 3 members of the Russian Duma led by Leonid Kalashnikov, head of the committee for CIS problems, Eurasian integraton and diaspora relations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Moldovan President and the Russian lawmakers agreed to organize in March or April 2017 an event dedicated to the collaboration between the Eurasian Economic Union and Moldova. The event will probably focus on signing the memorandum of cooperation with the Union and offering the observer role to Moldova.<\/p>\n

-Andr\u00e1s T\u00f3th-Czifra writes for the Atlantic Sentinel<\/a> that Moldova’s pro-Russian Igor Dodon is just a president of smoke and mirrors by overemphasizing his geopolitical position and ignoring the fight against corruption, illustrated now by the oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc:<\/p>\n

In the debate that really matters, Dodon and Plahotniuc are on the same side. They are both part of a political system that helps them and that they are keen to preserve.<\/em><\/p>\n

Moreover,\u00a0T\u00f3th-Czifra argues that the EU must win a\u00a0normative<\/em>, not just geopolitical contest in Moldova.<\/p>\n

-In his article on\u00a0Parallel dialogues between EU and Moldova and Russian-Eurasian factor<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>Dionis Cenu\u0219\u0103 stresses that the European Union will have to put conditionality first in the dialogue with the so-called “pro-European” Government, but also to improve public communication in order the anti-EU rhetoric of President Dodon:<\/p>\n

The ramifications and augmentation of conditionality, improvement of communication with the public, and the personality of the next head of the EU Delegation in Chisinau arriving in the course of 2017, are going to have a major impact on the EU\u2019s image in Moldova\u2026and notably will Pirkka Tapiola’s successor after 2017 sustain where necessary tough criticism of the Moldovan government?<\/em><\/p>\n

-16 cross-border partnerships between Moldovan and Ukrainian communities will share grants<\/a>, a total amount of 3,3 million euros, for solving community challenges within the frame of Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Programme (EaPTC).\u00a0The 16 awarded projects are\u00a0almost proportionally\u00a0<\/em>shared among the objectives and priorities of the Programme:\u00a0improving the living conditions of local communities, addressing common cross-border challenges, education, culture and sport.<\/p>\n

-The political parties of Moldova will receive<\/a> 40 million lei from the state budget in 2017. According to the Central Electoral Commission, the funds will be directed to the parties according to their performance at the Parliamentary elections from 30 November 2014 and the local elections from 14 June 2015. A party will get 1,11 lei for every\u00a0vote at the Parliamentary elections and 0,47 lei for every vote at the local elections.<\/p>\n

The Liberal-Democratic Party will benefit the most by getting over 8,5 million lei. The Democrat Party and the Socialists\u2019 Party will each get approximately 7,5 million lei. 5,7 million lei will go to the Communists\u2019 Party and 4,5 million lei will be directed to the Liberal Party. The extra-parliamentary \u201cOur Party\u201d, whose leader Renato Usat\u00eei is B\u0103l\u021bi\u2019s mayor, will get almost 2 million lei for the results in the 2015 local elections.<\/p>\n

-On February 4th, the Austrian Foreign Minister and current Chairman of the OSCE, Sebastian Kurz, made a visit<\/a> to Moldova to discuss the agenda of the Transnistrian conflict settlement, but also the bilateral relations between Austria and Moldova.<\/p>\n

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Kurz\u00a0met the Moldovan Prime-Minister Pavel Filip. While the Austrian\u00a0was more focused on condemning the current escalations of the Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine, Filip stressed the importance of withdrawing the illegally stationed regular troops of Russia from the breakaway Transnistria. The Moldovan premier added that his Government would continue the policy of small steps in the process of negotiation with the separatist left bank, but would also seek to settle the legal status of Transnistria. In his turn, the OSCE Chairman supported a solution of keeping the Transnistrian region within the Republic of Moldova, emphasizing its central position in the agenda of the Organization.<\/p>\n

Kurz also met with the Transnistrian party, represented by the so-called foreign minister Vitaly Ignatiev and the leader Vadim Krasnoselsky. Kurz told Krasnoselsky that OSCE priorities for 2017 are fighting terrorism and aggression, confidence building, conflict solving in the countries of the region, but also, more specifically, improving the life quality of people of Transnistria and Moldova. On the other side, Krasnoselsky assured the Austrian Chairman that Transnistria is a\u00a0peace-loving country\u00a0<\/em>that wants to live in peace with its\u00a0neighbors<\/em>\u2013 Moldova and Ukraine.<\/p>\n

-On January 26th, during his visit in Moscow, the so-called president of the separatist Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, commented<\/a> on the proposal of the Moldovan President Igor Dodon to have a referendum on the settlement and further integration. Krasnoselsky stressed that Transnistria had chosen its future in a referendum in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Transnistria, in 2006, the people expressed their willing to get independence and further integration in Russia. We don\u2019t see the necessity of organizing another referendum on this question. Our nation decided.<\/em><\/p>\n

Moldova as a sovereign country can organize as many referendums\u00a0as it wants, it\u2019s their internal thing. Transnistria already had this referendum\u201d<\/em>, declared the Transnistrian leader to the newspaper of the Federal Assembly of Russia.<\/p>\n

-Transnistria asks<\/a> Russia for a long-term loan of $130 million for \u201cbudget and fiscal reforms\u201d. The so-called Finance Minister of the breakaway Transnistria, Irina Molokanova, recently had a meeting with the Russian Finance Minister, Leonid Gorchin, to ask for a long-term loan and expertise in fiscal and budget reforms.\u00a0the Transnistrian Ministry of Finance promises to plan a reformation of the fiscal and budgetary system. But, \u201csince the reforms take time\u201d, the separatist government asked the Russian Government to offer a long-term loan of 130 million US dollars, methodological help and expertise for the changes in the budget and fiscal spheres.<\/p>\n

-On February 2nd, hundreds of\u00a0people of Gagauzia autonomy took to the streets of the local capital Comrat to celebrate 3 years from the referendum from 2014 on the independence and foreign policy of the region and Moldova.<\/p>\n

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\"\u0422\u0440\u0435\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/p>\n

-On February 2nd, the Ministry of Justice of Moldova published<\/a> the project drafts of the new prison which is expected to be built in Chi\u0219in\u0103u. The project of the 1536 places prison has been made by the Dutch \u201cArchivolt architecten bv\u201d together with \u201cHalmos Adviseurs bv\u201d and \u201cIGC Construct SRL\u201d.<\/p>\n

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The project of the new prison, expected to be built near Bubuieci village of the Chi\u0219in\u0103u municipality and meant to replace the overcrowded 13th Penitentiary, is funded with a loan of 39 million euros from the Council of Europe Development Bank.<\/p>\n

-Over 500 soldiers of the National Army of Moldova accepted<\/a> the 22 Push-Up Challenge as a sign of solidarity with soldiers suffering from the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.<\/p>\n

Officers and subofficers of the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion, the Special Destination Battalion, the Guard Battalion, the students of the \u201cAlexandru cel Bun\u201d Military Academy, soldiers of the National Army and the peace-keepers of Kosovo-based KFOR mission, did 22 push-ups each and challenged their colleagues from the United States, Romania and KFOR mission.<\/p>\n

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