The political transition following the parliamentary elections in 2019 produced a major change of power that created preconditions for boosting the reforms’ agenda, but the fundamental weaknesses of the state of the country were not resolved yet.
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What is the nature and the causes of economic development in the Republic of Moldova? As shown in this 2009 State of the Country Report, Moldova's geographic and natural endowment is not conducive to an effortless long term development. At the same time, poor and extremely scarce human capital congruent with the real economic needs, remains the key constraint undermining labor productivity. Within this context, it is crucial for Moldova to strengthen its market institutions so that to become the most attractive country for investors in the Eastern Europe. And because the institutional framework is also influenced by the political process and social order, it is important that various political parties and social groups, although holding divergent preferences, engage in peaceful discussions and go beyond one's boundaries regarding the alternatives that oppose them. Finally, Moldova's European aspirations still divide citizens in, at least two divergent camps, on the one side of the spectrum are those who favour the European option over the Eastern one and alternatively, on the other side are those that identify with the latter space rather than with the EU. All in all, this analysis points out to the need of a balanced and cautious approach both with regard to the foreign and domestic public policies, bearing in mind the overarching goal of European integration.
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Keywords: poverty in Moldova;
This report examines the role of civil society and private sector in the Republic of Moldova in achieving the Millennium Development Goal 1 “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” (MDG 1). In the study participated in the civil society and the private sector and relevant government institutions and relevant international organizations.
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Keywords: education in Moldova;
The survey’s goal consists in making an analysis of the contribution of civil society organizations and of private sector to achieving the targets of MDG 2 in the Republic of Moldova, identification of the constraints faced by non-governmental organizations and private companies while conducting relevant for MDG 2 activities and making recommendations for improving and expanding the collaboration among public authorities, associative sector and private sector in terms of ensuring universal access to preschool and general compulsory education.
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Keywords: gender equality;
The objectives of this study are to: (1). briefly present the national context on promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, (2) highlight and analyze the role of the associative sector and private sector in achieving MDG 3, (3) provide examples of best practices of gender approach in the civil society and the private sector activities, and (4) develop recommendations to enhance the contribution of associative and private sectors in achieving the MDGs by 2015. // The Study begins with an overview of MDG 3 in the context of the Republic of Moldova and current trends in the field, followed by two chapters that consider the involvement of civil society and the associative sector in achieving MDG 3, and ends with the main conclusions and recommendations to optimize and streamline the work of the NGOs and businesses, as well as bibliographical sources.
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Keywords: child mortality in Moldova;
The report analyzes the role of civil society and private sector in the Republic of Moldova for achieving Millennium Development Goal 4. Reduce child mortality. The analysis was done based on legislation in force and on a survey conducted to this end among civil society and private sector representatives, as well as among governmental institutions and development partners. // Taking into account that the Republic of Moldova still has much to do in terms of reducing infant mortality and mortality of under-five children, chapter 5 of this report lists the proposals and recommendations made by civil society and private sector for improving the situation in this field, and shows the segments on which the above-mentioned stakeholders are willing to involve as Government’s basic partners. The chapter also shows the visions of Government and of its basic partners on the importance of civil society and private sector involvement in activities requiring their support.
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Keywords: Maternal health in Moldova;
The Report comes to the conclusion that progress towards reduction and stabilization of the maternal mortality rate in the Republic of Moldova is due to implementation of a series of health care programmes by Government (Ministry of Health) with the support of partners for development, such as regionalization of perinatal health care, “Riskless pregnancy” project, establishing a nationwide network of reproductive health services, compulsory health insurance provided by the State for pregnant and postpartum women, establishing a network of integrated services for youth, etc.Two distinct chapters of this report analyze and assess the contribution of civil society organizations and of private sector to achieving MDG 5 through such activities, as policy promotion, service provision, information and education. The survey revealed the stakeholders, their territorial distribution and size, as well as the problems faced by them as contributors to the process of achieving MDG 5.
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Keywords: Health-care in Moldova; HiV;
As stated by the participants throughout the study, the biggest difficulties in HIV/AIDS control/prevention refer to the insufficient financing and dependence of non-governmental organizations on donors in relation to the necessary financial resources, austere budgets of the donors; difficulties in assurance of social services sustainability in this sphere due to the lacking mechanism for procurement of social services by the state; structural/organizational barriers in the sphere of HIV testing services ; very limited educational programs in the area of general education; limited access for the young people and adolescents to youth-friendly health services.
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Keywords: environment care in Moldova;
This survey includes an overview of MDG 7, and of the situation in the respective field, by tangential sectors to national targets of MDG 7. Further, we will attempt to assess the contribution that civil society organizations might bring to achieving MDG 7, giving examples of relevant activities to this end. We will reveal the potential of civil society organizations from the perspective of involving in the achievement of national targets of MDG 7. Afterwards, we will analyze the level of private sector development in the fields relevant for MDG 7, as well as its contribution to ensuring a sustainable environment. In that context, we will describe some case studies which might serve as examples for the whole private sector. Finally, we will summarize the contents of the survey and make some recommendations for the efficient involvement of civil society and business entities in achievement of national targets of MDG 7.
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Keywords: Millennium Development Goal 8;
Millennium Development Goal 8 (MDG 8) consists of six targets. The targets are intended to enhance the situation in several fields: (target 1) develop the financial and trade systems; (target 2) upgrade transportation and customs infrastructure; (target 3) monitor external debt; (target 4) reduce youth unemployment; (target 5) ensure access to essential medicines; (target 6) build an information society. // The particularities of MDG 8 derive from the diversity of issues included in this goal. Most targets have an economic essence (except the target aimed at access to medicines), nevertheless, it is difficult to ensure a continuity or connection among the issues subject to analysis. Such a variety of issues generated much confusion among the respondents. Thus, several business entities tend to under-estimate their contribution to MDG 8. Or, such respondents consider they have a direct impact solely on one target. In the same time, the in-depth interview showed that the activity of the company/SCO is to a certain extent related to two or even three targets of MDG 8. // This report makes the analysis of the role and contribution of civil society organizations and private sector to achieving the targets of Millennium Development Goal 8 „Create sustainable partnerships for development” (MDG 8). The major goal of the survey is to point out the contribution and the role of civil society organizations and private sector in achieving MDG 8.
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Keywords: Iasi-Ungheni pipeline; energy supply of Moldowa;
The extension of the Iasi-Ungheni pipeline is a major objective for the Moldovan energy sector. Interconnecting Moldova with the gas market in Romania and Europe is the first step to diversify energy sources and routes, which would reduce the monopoly of Moldovagaz and consolidate the country's energy security. Currently, the Iasi-Ungheni interconnector is still much underutilized and can be fully used only by extending the pipeline to Chisinau, where there is the gas demand, and by increasing the transport capacity on the Romanian side.
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Keywords: Foreign Debt of Moldowa;
As part of the "Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova", at the first donors' conference held in April 2022 in Berlin, important financial support was announced in the form of loans and grants from various governments, European and international financial institutions, for mitigating the negative economic and social impact that Moldova suffered as a result of the regional security crisis. This July, the second edition of the conference took place in Bucharest, where the emphasis was placed on the consolidation of energy independence and assistance for reforms. In this context, messages of concern appeared in the public space, both sincere and manipulative, regarding the country's ability to assume new foreign debts. This article examines whether such fears are justified and disproves the main unfounded perceptions that exist on this subject. We also propose a series of recommendations for the Government and creditors aimed at ensuring judicious contracting and management of external loans.
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The Republic of Moldova is facing a perfect storm composed of rising energy and food prices, high inflationary expectations ahead of the winter season when gas prices reach maximum highs, war at the border that skyrocketed logistic costs, disrupted value-chains and induced huge uncertainty among firms, households and the government, along with draught and stagnation or even recession for this year. On the background of this difficult environment, the country received a clear European perspective in the form of EU candidate status as a sign of support and credit of trust from the European Union for a series of important reform commitments of the government that are yet to be delivered in such areas as justice, fight against corruption, public administration, state-owned enterprises, and macro-financial stability.Moldova also received important financial assistance from the IMF, EU, and other development partners and, as a result, the massive deficit of about 1 billion EUR planned for 2022 will be financed exclusively from external financial support.
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Keywords: Covid 19; vaccination;
As effective vaccines may soon be approved by the US and European Union’s health authorities, it is important to stress that these can be a powerful weapon against Covid-19 only if people take them. There has always been reluctance around vaccine uptake. However, recent surveys show that the skepticism has been on the rise in the last few months and is sufficiently high to render community immunity a challenging goal. Differences in acceptance rates range from almost 90% (China) to less than 55% (Russia, France). With missing data from Moldova, one can only speculate about the acceptance rates. However, it is reasonable to expect that the acceptance rates would not differ much compared to Russia, which is one of the countries with the most pronounced skepticism toward vaccination.
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Keywords: Energy supply of Moldowa;
The starting point in examining the energy poverty represents the incursion into the national legal framework that governs energy sector. Next, a set of indirect statistics features the manifestation of the energy poverty. Subsequently, the particularities of the tariff policy are brought attention. The description of the existing policies targeting socially related deficiencies to cope with energy prices follows. In conclusion, the paper tailors specific policy recommendation to address the issue in a comprehensive, systemic and sustainable manner.
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Keywords: development of Republic of Moldowa;
In general, the national policy agenda is only partially aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and one third of the SDG targets are not reflected in any way in national policy documents. In total, 169 targets were analyzed, but special emphasis was placed on 126 numerical targets of the Sustainable Development Goals1. Thus, as a result of mapping the national policy agenda and comparing it with the SDGs, we find that only 11% of the SDG targets are aligned with the national policy documents and therefore do not require adjustments to be taken up. At the same time, most of the SDG targets (57%) are only partially aligned with the policy documents of the Republic of Moldova – only some components of these targets are found and therefore the relevant national strategies need to be adjusted to better reflect the spirit and details of the SDG targets. About a third of the SDG targets are not reflected in any way in national policy documents.
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Keywords: Covid 19;
The recent rise in the number of COVID-19 infections, which was most likely caused by new virus strains, stirred heated public debates about the need to enforce tougher restrictions in order to prevent the virus from spreading. In this context, as a result of the recent meeting of the Supreme Security Council, President Sandu suggested to impose a 2-week state of emergency and for the Government to develop the list of restrictions regarding social and economic activities, which would be then submitted to the Parliament for consideration and approval. The idea of establishing these restrictions (or a lockdown) is controversial per se, as its impact will be felt by everyone, implying costs for some and benefits for others. On the one hand it could lead to economic and social costs, with particular damage to small enterprises and employees with lower salaries, especially if we take into account the population’s low income and the economy that is barely recovering from the most severe recession in the last 20 years, while on the other hand a lockdown could relieve some of the pressure on the health system, prevent infection spreading and allow saving people’s lives. Nevertheless, the heated arguments about this issue miss a cold review of the effects caused by the lockdown of 17 March - 16 May 2020, which could be used as a yardstick for understanding the effects of a potential lockdown in 2021. This analysis estimates those effects on the level of infection cases and deaths caused by COVID-19, as well as on the major economic indicators, by means of precise econometrics and statistical techniques.
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Keywords: Covid 19;
The study "The COVID-19 crisis: state companies between uncertainty and opportunities" was carried out in the context of unexpected developments in economic activity following the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, known worldwide as the COVID-19 pandemic. To limit the spread of the virus, the vast majority of states have resorted to unprecedented quarantine and social distancing measures, unimaginable until a few months ago, which are affecting the conduct of several types of economic activities. As time passes and there is still no medical solution to the virus, all the conditions for a major economic crisis appear to be present – sharp decline in GDP, bankruptcies and rising unemployment. In response, broad state intervention is seen as the key to economic recovery, even by those who in the past viewed the state as a threat to the free market. The general acceptance is that "ordinary tools are not enough to deal with these extraordinary times" and "state companies are part of the governments' effort to recover the situation both medically and economically".
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Keywords: Covid 19;
Moldova's natural resources are in a precarious state. Water is a scarce resource and the country's afforestation rate is extremely low1. This is compounded by inefficient waste management and increased pollution from car emissions. At the same time, the Republic of Moldova fails to explore the potential of fiscal-budgetary instruments in addressing environmental issues. For many years, budget spending on environmental protection has been extremely low. In addition, a number of shortcomings in the regulation of environmental taxes are eroding their ability to stimulate environmentally friendly behaviour of citizens and businesses. The existing system of pollution taxes in the Republic of Moldova is outdated, does not correspond to other countries' practices and is lagging behind other environmental reforms. In this context, this study assesses the national practice in the field of pollution taxes. The study concludes with a set of proposals for making pollution taxes more effective.
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