Press review // The Republic of Moldova may lose European funding; Risks for the Republic of Moldova in the event of the adoption of the "foreign agents law"
Publications from the Republic of Moldova address the challenges that the Republic of Moldova could face before this year's parliamentary elections. The press also tells us under what conditions the Republic of Moldova could lose the record funding from the EU, worth 1.9 billion euros. And some publications explain what effects the vote on the "Foreign agents law", promised by the socialists, could have on the Republic of Moldova.
Illegal financing of political parties in the electoral campaign, voter corruption, expansion of postal voting and adjustment of normative acts, following the shortcomings found in the 2024 elections, are the main challenges of this year's parliamentary elections, reports Realitatea.md. The portal refers to the statements made by the vice-president of the Central Electoral Commission, Pavel Postica, on RLIVE TV. The representative of CEC said that in the 2023 local elections, there were frequent cases of wholesale voter corruption, for example through a major investment, the repair of a road or a playground, as it was about money that was not accounted for. However, the projects were presented by some political parties or electoral competitors as their achievement, says Pavel Postică. In the 2024 elections, another scheme was applied: individual corruption, either through cash or through transactions via virtual cards, says the vice-president of CEC, quoted by realitatea.md.
The Republic of Moldova will lose European funding if an anti-EU government comes to Chisinau, reports TVR Moldova. The television station quotes Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureşan, according to whom the Republic of Moldova has come a long way towards the European Union, but if, after the parliamentary elections, parties with a pro-Russian vision were to come to power, Chisinau risks losing the 1.9 billion euro financial support offered by the European Union. "I say very clearly: if, by absurdity, an anti-European government comes to power, everything that has been achieved risks being lost. (...) I don't want this to happen, but if there were an anti-European government in the Republic of Moldova that would violate European rules, the EU would legally no longer send this funding." The Romanian MEP mentioned that the first money from the 1.9 billion euro package would be transferred in April, and the next installment in July.
What are the risks for the Republic of Moldova in the event of the adoption of the "foreign agents law"? - explains Ziarul de Garda, in the context in which the leader of the Socialist Party, Igor Dodon, declared that "the adoption of such a law will become a political commitment of the PSRM, also included in the party's electoral platform. The executive director of the Independent Press Association, Petru Macovei, says that Igor Dodon would like to take over an existing law in the Russian Federation that limits both the rights of public associations and media institutions. The adoption of such a law would mean that the activity of many non-governmental associations and media institutions that benefit from external funding will be greatly limited, and the state will obtain leverage to coerce or liquidate alternative voices in the media and civil society, explains Petru Macovei. According to the journalist of the Zona de Securitate portal, Irina Tabaranu, the adoption of the law on foreign agents in the Republic of Moldova could ultimately lead to the disappearance of independent media, as is the case in the Transnistrian region, in the Russian Federation, in Belarus, and as could soon be the case in Georgia. Asked by ZdG, human rights expert Daniel Goinic stated that "such politicians should read the decision of the European Court of Human Rights "Kobaliya and others against Russia" of October 2, 2024, where they will see that such legislation violates the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of association. At the same time, such a law has the chance to be declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of the country, the expert says.
“Russia prepared its repressive device for longer wars”, and “Moldova is on Putin’s shopping list”, headlines Agora, which summarizes an opinion by Spanish journalist and writer Xavier Colás. The author expresses his vision on the evolution of post-Soviet states in his latest book “Putinistan” and the concept “Homo Putinis”, also referring to the potential risks for the Republic of Moldova, in the current geopolitical context. Xavier Colás deduces what Vladimir Putin’s next targets could be in the context of his “military project in Ukraine.". The journalist emphasized the importance of “the way this war will end” for the security of the Republic of Moldova and the Baltic countries. “If Putin’s military project is successful in Ukraine, it will certainly go further”, concluded Xavier Colás, in the interview published by Agora.
Several publications have meanwhile reported on the difficult economic situation on the left bank of the Nistru. According to the IPN agency, the energy crisis in the Transnistrian region has catastrophic consequences. Over 4 thousand employees of large industrial enterprises were left without jobs, in January the region's "export" decreased by 60%, and the volume of production at the beginning of 2025 was reduced by almost half compared to the same period last year. The financial impact will be felt in the coming months, depending on the evolution of the economic situation, IPN notes.
The media writes that the Republic of Moldova is among the top ten exporters of dried plums worldwide. Moldova 1 TV publishes an interview with farmer Sergiu Manolov, who opened a dried plum processing business 11 years ago. Annually, this producer exports approximately 500 tons of prunes, 80% of which are plums. The entrepreneur says that the largest amount goes to the United Arab Emirates and Poland. In the last two years, the export of dried plums has increased significantly, and this is largely due to modern processing technologies, explains Alexandra Bîcu, marketing specialist, Moldova Fruct Association, quoted by Moldova 1. "First of all, this is related to the adjustment of producers to the requirements of increasingly target markets, the introduction of new modern technologies for processing drying products, and the adjustment to packaging requirements." In 2024, the Republic of Moldova ranked seventh in the plum export ranking, with approximately 10 thousand tons.
