Parliament to Vote on New Government Tuesday
Weekly Roundup: "Super Tuesday" in Brussels, Tofan does consultations and other updates
New Government to Face Vote of Confidence on July 21
Prime Minister Designate Vasile Tofan will present the composition of his government and their program to parliament for a vote of confidence on Tuesday July 21.
Since his appointment on Saturday, Tofan has been holding consultations with business associations, opposition political parties, civic groups and the interim government. He met with all 16 acting ministers to discuss the critical priorities for the next 12 months. No acting minister confirmed to the press that their job is safe and none has resigned so far.
In remarks so far, Tofan has signaled continuity - stressing that he would not disrupt ongoing reform processes such as the local public administration reform that he previously opposed publicly. In various remarks he stressed the importance of EU integration and building a growing and competitive economy as his top priorities.
Vasile Tofan turned 44 years old the day after his appointment by President Sandu. He and his wife welcomed their 4th child, becoming the parents of 4 boys, less than one month ago. Tofan has joked that his wife is not thrilled with his acceptance of this mandate but supportive.
EU Opens Cluster 6 with Moldova and Ukraine
On Tuesday July 14 the European Union opened negotiations on Cluster 6: External Relations with Moldova and Ukraine. For Moldova, this was made official at the 3rd Moldova - EU Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels with Moldova being represented by Interim PM Eugeniu Osmochescu. Cluster 6 contains 2 negotiating chapters titled “External relations” and “Foreign, security and defense policy.”
July 14 came to be called “Super Tuesday” as the EU held 4 intergovernmental conferences. While Moldova and Ukraine both opened a cluster, Albania provisionally closed 3 chapters and Montenegro provisionally closed 2. Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos named it “Super Tuesday” as she noted that no comparable step in EU enlargement had taken place since 2002. These moves come in the context of Hungary no longer blocking some aspects of enlargement after Viktor Orban’s defeat this Spring.
International Affairs & Security
Here’s a roundup of the top international affairs & security stories of the week:
President Sandu represented Moldova at the Coalition of the Willing (CoW) meeting in Paris on July 13. This is the first time that Moldova has participated in the CoW and marks a further commitment in support of the defense of Ukraine. In remarks, President Sandu stressed that Moldova is not the only neutral nation that participates and that Moldova joins “a group of countries, largely European, who have united their efforts to support Ukraine to reach a ceasefire and, subsequently, a just peace, which will prevent further aggression.”
German Ambassador to Moldova Hubert Knirsch created a scandal when he suggested that Romanian and “Moldovan” might be different languages. In an interview on Jurnal TV, the Ambassador was asked about the topic of Moldova uniting with Romania with the interviewer noting that “we were once one country, we speak the same language, we have a common culture, traditions and religion.” The Ambassador noted that any decision on union belongs to the citizens of Moldova and Romania, but disputed the idea that the countries share a common language. His (apparent) attempt to take no side on the issue - stating that some people say “Moldovan” and some say “Romanian” - turned into an explosive controversy. Hi received massive criticism online with some suggesting that the Ambassador is a Russian agent. Ambassador Knirsch has apologized for not being “clear and precise” and promised to go on a listening tour to better understand the “concerns” raised1.
President Maia Sandu attended the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Kyiv. There she advocated for more air defense support for Ukraine, more pressure on Russia and increased sanctions. She held bilateral meetings with President Zelenskyy, the Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković and the Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Janša. Moldova officially signed the Kyiv Declaration reiterating support for Ukraine in the war against Russia.
Russia’s FSB claims to have foiled a drone attack in the Moscow region involving 2 Moldovans. In their press release, the FSB alleges a complex plot involving 35 drones transported from Slovakia hidden in crates of Spanish ceramic tiles. The alleged plot is complicated, and improbably involves Ukrainian Rapper “Kyivstoner.” The FSB alleges that 2 Moldovans, Victor Pîrlog (born in 1986) and Aurel Calos (born in 1995) participated in the plot and escaped. They claim that all 35 drones were launched but were intercepted by special technology before hitting their targets2. None of this has been confirmed and Moldova’s Ministry of Foriegn Affairs has requested clarification.
On Monday July 13 a Russian Shahed-136 (Geran-2) drone crashed in the village of Copanca in Căușeni. The Army confirmed that the drone entered Moldovan airspace during a large Russian attack on Odesa. On impact, the drone’s gas tank exploded, causing alarm the crash site was less than 50m from a residential house. When police and army sappers arrived they found that the 40 kg warhead had not detonated. PAS MP Artemie Cătănoi went to the scene and told the press that the elderly couple living nearby were evacuated with their pets. Army sappers successfully moved the drone to a safe place and detonated it. This all resulted in official protests and the summoning of Russian Ambassador Designate Oleg Ozerov to the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs for his 3rd note of reprimand in 4 months.
On the same day, the Council of the European Union announced €120 million euros in new assistance under the European Peace Facility (EPF) for Moldova. These funds are for the purchase of air defense equipment, with a focus on medium range air defense. This brings total EPF support for Moldova to €317 million since the start of the full scale invasion, with past financing going to clean up Nistru river pollution,3 support Army sappers with disposing of new (and old WW2) shells and more.
Political Updates
Here’s a roundup of the top stories in politics (and scandal) of the week:
PAS MP Alexandr Trubca announced that he is resigning from parliament on July 10. After previously trying to preempt a coming investigation by TV8 with a serious of facebook statements explaining his investments, the MP resigned while claiming that “Everything I said publicly remains valid.” PAS leader Igor Grosu specified that he resigned after conversation with the party faction but did not answer whether Trubca did it of his own accord. TV8 has stated that they will air their investigation on July 19, but previewed it by noting that when elected in 2021, Alexandr Trubca had a salary from a local NGO, drove a modest car and owed a substantial mortgage on his apartment. They state that he is now a “multimillionaire in real estate, with investments in Moldova and abroad” and TV8 promises “more irregularities related to the businesses of Trubca and his partners, including other PAS deputies and state dignitaries.”
Energy prices are going up… again. As gasoline and diesel begin to rise again on news of renewed war between the United States and Iran, Energocom has requested that regulators at ANRE approve a jump in the price of natural gas from 14.42 lei / cubic meter to 20.93 lei (incl VAT) - a 45% increase. Acting Energy Minister Dorin Jungietu supported the change, noting that it is caused by the ongoing war against Iran and the spike in prices across Europe’s energy market. Energy expert Eugen Muravschi from WatchDog called the planned change “realistic” stating that previous projections for gas purchases from August - December were €404 / 1000 cubic meters. The price is currently at €623 / 1000 cubes. He explained that “In Europe, prices have exploded” and that as countries stockpile gas they may continue to rise.
This all might seem esoteric for people outside of Moldova, but it really isn’t. It is worth noting that it is a question of constitution and law in Moldova that the state language is Romanian. It is a question of law in Romania and Ukraine that the language spoken in Moldova is Romanian. It is a fact of science that all of this is true. Only in Russia is “Moldovan” a recognized language as a matter of public policy.
Anyone with a passing history of this country should know that these comments would be explosive. It is made all the more shocking by the fact that he brought the topic up himself and seemed utterly oblivious as to what he walked into.
Anyone paying attention to Russian air defense efforts should see this as a big red flag.
Caused by Russian airstrikes in Ukraine up river