● TUESDAY, June 17

Details about payment of property tax 

The reductions provided for fully paying the property tax by June 30 last year came to 28 million lei or 8.7% of the value of the calculated tax. In a program on Radio Moldova, state main tax inspector Vladimir Tudose said that the number of taxpayers who pay the realty tax beforehand and benefit from the 15% reduction increases annually, especially among private individuals. The tax rates are set by the local councils within the legal limits of 0.05 – 0.3% of the taxable base of the property. In the municipality of Chisinau, the tax for residential real estate is 0.1% of the taxable base, as against 0.05% last year, which is twice higher.

StarNet offers grants for Moldovan start-ups 

The company StarNet signed a convention with UNDP by which a sum of 400,000 lei will be provided to young IT entrepreneurs, in concert with the project’s partners. According to a communiqué of the company, the beneficiaries of the SYSLAB centers will attend training seminars and will receive full assistance for starting a business. The eligible persons will receive financing for launching entrepreneurship projects from StarNet and the partners. The company’s employees will also provide an intense mentoring program intended for the beneficiaries of the SYSLAB centers.

Construction of parking garage at Chisinau Airport under way 

The works to build a parking garage in front of the Chisinau International Airport, which will have a capacity of 823 places, have started. Petru Jardan, director of SRL “Avia Invest” that runs the airport based on a concession contract, told a news conference that the works will be carried out during nine months, while the cost of the project is about €7 million. Petru Jardan stated that owing to the rapid growth of the passenger traffic, the planned construction works were launched earlier than planned. The parking garage was designed by specialists of the company “UrbanProiect”, while the construction works will be performed by “Exfactor Grup”. The tender contest to select the design of the future parking garage involved companies from Italy, Turkey and Germany, but the national companies submitted the best bids, both from technical and financial viewpoints.

Investments of millions of euros at Chisinau Airport 

The terminal in the departure lounge of the Chisinau International Airport will be extended from 2,300 to 4,000 square meters. The areas will be outfitted according to the international requirements and standards. Director General of SRL “Avia Invest” Petru Jardan told a news conference that owing to the performed works, it will be possible to increase the airport’s service provision capacity from 420 to 750 passengers an hour. The works will start this September. They will cost an estimated €10 million.

● WEDNESDAY, June 18

Special loans for implementing energy efficient technology 

The financial company Prime Capital, in cooperation with USAID and the Embassy of Sweden, announced the launch of a credit line with more favorable conditions that the lines existing on the market, for implementing energy efficient technology. The institutions signed an agreement of assistance in providing loans to the value of US$3.5 million for a 15-year period. Prime Capital director general Carmina Vicol said the accord allows lending to both private individuals and small and medium-sized companies for which the implementation of energy efficient technology became a priority. Owing to this project, the financial resources will be more accessible to those who want to save by using energy efficient technology in their homes and diminishing losses of heat so that the bills are lower. The financial resources will be more accessible to active entrepreneurs who want an economical activity by switching over to more efficient sources of energy from economic viewpoint or by implementing new technology with impact on energy efficiency and the environment.

Moldova’s foreign donors to offer money for implementing DCFTA 

The foreign donors of Moldova will provide several million euros for implementing the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). The issue was discussed in a donors meeting organized by the EU-funded project “Support to the Implementation of the DCFTA” in partnership with the Ministry of Economy. In order to improve the business and investment climate, USAID will finance projects to the value of over €3 million by 2016, through the BRITE Project. In the period, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization will allocate €1 million for strengthening the MIEPO’s capacity to attract investments, including to the industrial parks of Moldova. Also, the International Fund for Agricultural Development will offer support projects to the value of over €24 million for rural financial services and agribusiness development.

PayPal becomes available in Moldova 

PayPal, a leading global payments provider, announced plans to introduce services into 10 new markets, including Moldova, starting from June 18. As services go live, the people of Moldova, Belarus, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, Nigeria, Paraguay, and Zimbabwe will be able to register for a PayPal account and start making payments on millions of websites around the world without the worry of entering their credit or debit card details online. “While technology is breaking down barriers to global commerce, many people are wary of entering their credit or debit card details on the website of an unknown seller, operating in a distant country,” said Damien Perillat, PayPal Regional Manager for Central and Eastern Europe.

● THURSDAY, June 19

Producers of electrical equipment will be responsible for disassembling used appliances 

The new Waste Law that is to be examined and passed by Parliament makes the producers and consumers more responsible. The bill promotes new approaches to implementing economic mechanisms for protecting the environment, including the payment of pollution taxes, depending on the production of different waste. An objective of the bill is to promote the principle of extended producer responsibility, which contributes to producing competitive goods that can be recovered and disassembled, Tatiana Tugui, manager of the Environment Pollution Prevention Office of the Ministry of the Environment. The law will make the producers responsible for financing activities to disassemble electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). The principle of extended producer responsibility is applied in most of the EU member states and the companies can choose to fulfill this obligation through individual or collective systems.

Association with EU will not affect protection of geographical indications 

Moldova’s association with the European Union will not generate negative changes as regards the reciprocal respect for geographical indications, said the director of the Brands, Models and Industrial Designs Department of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) Simion Levitski. The specialist was asked to provide explanations following statements by Communists that the national producers will be affected from this viewpoint when the Association Agreement comes into force. Simion Levitski said the relations on this segment are regulated by the EU – Moldova agreement on the protection of geographical indications of agricultural and food products, which took effect on April 1, 2013. By this accord, Moldova and the EU pledged to reciprocally ensure the protection of geographical indications. Thus, the European Union sent a list of over 3,000 geographical indications and appellations of origin registered in the EU to Moldova, while Moldova, for its part, presented its own list that includes two names of origin, both for wine - Ciumai and Romanesti. These names were later published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Customs posts to apply electronic clearance procedure 

All the customs posts will implement the electronic procedure for clearing the imported goods. A bill to this effect was passed by Parliament on June 19. It is aimed at reducing the time needed for making customs statements, eliminating the paper statements and simplifying and rationalizing the clearance procedures. The companies that will have digital signature will be able to complete the customs statement in electronic format at any computer connected to the customs information system, during at most seven minutes. The direct contact between the economic entity and the customs officer will be thus eliminated. The procedure will become transparent and will be supervised online.

Ecologically pure products to be cultivated in Anenii Noi 

A pond for irrigation will be built near Varnita village of Anenii Noi district and then another five ponds in cascade at the bioorganic farm “Gura Bacului”, on an area of 27.9 hectares. The farm will cultivate crops in natural conditions, without using pesticides. According to a communiqué of the Ministry of the Environment, the project was proposed by the Austrian firm “Holzer Permaculture” and is aimed at keeping the self-conservation systems and at using soil in natural ways so as to obtain ecologically pure agricultural products. Currently, representatives of the Ministry and of the State Ecological Inspectorate are examining the project.

● FRIDAY, June 20

 Moldova transmits investment proposals for building road bridge over Prut to EU 

The European Union supports Moldova and offers it financial assistance because the country achieved results in implementing European projects, Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure Vasile Botnari and European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas said in a joint press briefing. Vasile Botnari transmitted the investment proposals for building the road bridge over the Prut River, in Ungheni, to Siim Kallas. “We hope the project to construct the bridge in Ungheni will be included in the EU’s list of financial priorities for next year. We would also like to access European funds for building a European standard gauge railroad segment, with its electrification, and a multimodal logistic center in Chisinau,” said the minister.

Air Moldova to operate direct Chisinau – Heraklion flight 

On June 25, the airline Air Moldova, in cooperation with the travel agency Voiaj International, will launch a charter flight to the island of Crete, on the Chisinau – Heraklion – Chisinau route. According to a communiqué of the travel agency, the Chisinau – Heraklion – Chisinau flight will be operated once a week, on Wednesdays, by an Embraer – 190.

Rospotrebnadzor seeks new information about production of Moldovan wine 

Russia’s food safety body Rospotrebnadzor announced that it didn’t receive the required information about the removal of the problems identified in the production of Moldovan wine with a view to resuming the export to Russia. Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov said that he provided all the information they asked for, underlining that the Ministry is any time ready to cooperate. “We sent three official letters to Moscow. We specified how all the requirements will be met. We said we will fulfill even the most awkward requirements so that we can cooperate. I went personally to Moscow, but we didn’t manage to discuss and overcome this situation,” stated Vasile Bumacov.

Assessment of property for taxation purposes stopped 

Since 2004, when the process of assessing real estate for taxation purposes started, there were evaluated over 1.5 million possessions of the 5.5 million that are to be assessed. Head of the Assessment Service of the Land Relations and Cadastre Agency Olga Buzu said the homes, farmland and property with special purposes haven’t been yet assessed, but the process was stopped. “This year, the mass assessment of realty for taxation purposes hasn’t been carried out because no money was allocated from the budget of the Land Relations Agency. There were performed only works to assess 12,000 newly formed possessions such as apartments in new blocks and individuals houses that started to be used,” said the specialist.

GIZ Office opened in Chisinau 

Germany’s Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Müller inaugurated the GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation) Office in Chisinau on June 20. The event took place within his working visit to Chisinau, made on the occasion of the Moldovan-German governmental negotiations held annually, where the foreign assistance and bilateral cooperation areas are agreed. “In 2015, the Government of Germany will provide €15 million to different sectors, contributing thus to developing Moldova. The Association Agreement between Moldova and the EU will be soon signed and Germany’s support comes to increase the country’s visibility. The opening of the GIZ Office marks the growth of this support and the emphasis on mechanisms for people, on more modern infrastructure and services of a higher quality for the people,” Gerd Müller said in the inaugural ceremony.

● SATURDAY,  June 21

Opportunities at Moldova Stock Exchange 

The second this year auction to sell publicly owned shares will be held at the Moldova Stock Exchange between July 15 and July 18. The auction is organized by the Ministry of Economy’s Public Property Agency. The buyers will be able to purchase shares only as undividable holdings. There will be auctioned shareholdings in 32 joint stock companies. In 12 of them, the state-owned holding exceeds 50%, including in Aeroport-Catering and Comert-Petrol (100%), the Orhei tobacco fermentation factory (95%), the Falesti sanitation machinery plant (94%), Aqua-Prut (76.5%) of Rosu village of Cahul district, and Floare-Carpet (59.4%).