Natural resources and energy
Moldova's natural resources are
insignificant. Cement, clay, plaster, lime, stone and
gravel are extracted for the construction industry.
However, minerals and other raw materials for industry
must be imported, as well as natural gas and oil. Small
deposits of gas and oil have been found in the country.
There is also a hydropower plant.
Most of the country's energy needs are covered by
imported gas and oil, mainly from Russia. About 70 per
cent of electricity is extracted from imported energy
sources, while the remainder is generated mainly from
domestic hydropower.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Major exports by Moldova with a full list of the top products exported by the country. Includes trade value in U.S. dollars and the percentage for each product category.
In August 2014, the construction of a gas pipeline
between Moldova and Romania was completed. The
leadership was part of Moldova's quest to reduce
dependence on Russian gas by joining the EU's energy
system.
Both chemicals from agriculture and industrial
emissions have contributed to serious environmental
problems. The rivers and lakes are polluted, and land
degradation is extensive. In some areas, the soil
contains large amounts of toxic substances. Many of the
country's wild animal and plant species are endangered.
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Abbreviationfinder: A popular acronym site in the world covering abbreviation for each country. For example, MD stands for Moldova.
FACTS - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Energy use per person
928 kilos of oil equivalent (2014)
Electricity consumption per person
1386 kilowatt hours, kWh (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions in total
4 932 thousand tonnes (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions per inhabitant
1.4 tons (2014)
The share of energy from renewable sources
14.3 percent (2015)
2015
December
Try to form a government
Shortly before Christmas, businessman Ion Sturza is commissioned to try to
form a new government. Sturza was formerly prime minister for nine months in
1999. An opening in the locked political situation opens when 14 MPs leave the
pro-Russian Communist Party and form a new group they call the Social Democratic
Parliamentary Platform for Moldova. Sturza gets 15 days to put together a new
government.
November
Parliamentary elections are held in Transnistria
November 29th
Parliamentary and municipal elections are held in the transnistrian republic.
138 candidates are competing for the 43 seats in the legislative assembly.
October
The former prime minister is arrested
Former Prime Minister Vlad Filat is arrested for suspicion of involvement in
the billion-dollar fraud that cost the country around 15 percent of its GDP. He
is arrested shortly after Parliament, at the request of the Prosecutor General,
voted to revoke his legal immunity. Some of his personal assets are confiscated.
The government is falling
October 29th
On October 29, Parliament defeated the government through a declaration of
confidence adopted by 65 of the 101 members. The pro-Russian parties do common
thing. Liberal George Brega is appointed to lead an interim government. If a new
ordinary government cannot be formed within 90 days, the president must dissolve
parliament and announce new elections.
September
Mass protests against corruption
Tens of thousands of people are demonstrating in Chișinău against the
corruption in the country and in particular that no accountants have been
arrested for the fraud deals that cost Moldova 10-15% of its GDP (see
April 2015). The protesters demand that the president resign, that new
elections are announced and that the senior executives of the central bank and
the national prosecutor's office are dismissed. Hundreds of tents are being
erected in the city center where activists will keep the protests going.
The head of the central bank resigns
Central bank governor Dorin Dragutanu resigns after criticizing him for not
preventing billions of money from disappearing from the country's leading
commercial banks. He says he resigns under pressure from "some politicians".
Both the President and the Prime Minister have said that Dragutanu should
resign. The governor leaves the day before Moldova and the IMF are expected to
begin negotiations, which the government hopes will lead to the country being
able to receive new financial support from the EU and other aid countries.
No help from the IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), for the time being, rejects plans to
negotiate new loans with Moldova. A few days later, another mass demonstration
is being held in Chișinău against the government. At least 15,000 people are
reported to be participating.
July
New Prime Minister approved
Parliament approves Valeriu Streleț as new Prime Minister. He is supported by
the 52 members of the three EU-friendly parties but not by anyone else. He says
his most important task will be to curb corruption and track down the amount of
a billion US dollars that has disappeared from the country's banks.
Clearly with an EU-friendly coalition
The three EU-friendly parties Democrats, Liberals and Liberal Democrats agree
to form a new government. Together, they have 52 of Parliament's 101 seats.
Political instability has set the bar for a new cooperation program with the
IMF, which in turn has slowed the payment of budget support from the EU. The new
Prime Minister is nominated Minister of Education Maia Sandu, who was previously
an economist at the World Bankand representing the Liberal Democratic Party.
However, she demands that the prosecutor and the governor be dismissed. The
three parties cannot immediately accept that. Instead, the assignment as a
governess goes to her party mate Valeriu Streleț. He is the Deputy Chairman of
the Liberal Democrats and has been the party's group leader in parliament since
September 2014.
June
Wrath of corruption shakes the prime minister
Prime Minister Gaburici demands that the prosecutors at the National
Prosecutor's Office resign because they have failed to find the culprits in the
banking scandal (see April 2015). He also urges the governor to
leave his post. A few days later, prosecutors begin to investigate allegations
that Gaburici forged school certificates to enter higher education. These are
old accusations that are now being highlighted again. The prosecutor's
investigation results in Gaburici submitting his resignation application, barely
three months after his entry. "I'm not going to participate in political games,"
he says. The President appoints Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman as provisional
head of government.
EU-friendly dominance in municipalities
The EU-friendly parties are taking clear leadership in local elections over
those who advocated closer ties with Russia. Opinion measurements had hinted at
the exact opposite result. The pro-European parties get just over 56 percent of
the votes in the first round, compared to just over 31 percent for the
Russian-friendly. It gives the EU-friendly government parties power in 348
cities and villages, while pro-Russian parties are allowed to rule in 56 cities
and independent politicians in 34 seats.
Other rounds are held in the local elections
June 28
A second round of elections is conducted in 458 places where no candidate
received more than 50 percent of the votes in the first round. In the capital
Chișinău, incumbent mayor Dorin Chirtoacă, representing the Liberal Party, wins.
May
Protests against corruption scandal
About 10,000 people are protesting in Chișinău against those suspected of
snubbing a billion dollars from three of the country's largest banks (see
April 2015). The protesters shout slogans against the
corruption and demand that the national prosecutor, several judges at the
Supreme Court and a number of politicians resign. During the investigation of
the scandal, so far two people have been arrested and several have their
accounts frozen, but who they are has not been revealed.
April
The banking system is rocking
It is revealed that three of the country's largest banks shortly before the
November 2014 election made disbursements of the equivalent of one billion US
dollars, in turn equivalent to 15 percent of the country's GDP. Who the
recipients were is unclear, and the country's political leaders assume that the
money will never come back. The central bank grants the banks a loan of the
equivalent of $ 700 million and takes control of their operations to save them
from bankruptcy, which could cause the entire banking system in Moldova to
crash. The money is believed to have been deposited in foreign accounts of
politicians and businessmen. The loans to the banks are also not expected to be
repaid, but instead to be charged to the central government debt.
February
Gaburici becomes head of government
February 18
Parliament approves Chiril Gaburici as new Prime Minister. He is supported in
the vote by the members of the Liberal Democrats, the Democratic Party and the
Communist Party. The 38-year-old Gaburici has worked in the telecommunications
industry and is new to politics but has been offered the government job by the
Liberal Democrats. He promises to continue the process of approaching Moldova to
the EU, with a view to submitting an application for membership 2018.
Insufficient support for minority government
The proposed minority government does not gain the confidence of Parliament.
Only 42 members vote for the government, but 51 votes would have been required.
The defeat raises questions about Moldova's political stability and the
cooperation agreement with the EU. The President has the opportunity to dissolve
Parliament unless a new government can be formed within 45 days.
January
The proposed government has weak support
The three EU-friendly parties resume negotiations on renewed government
cooperation. At the end of the month, the Liberal Democrats (PLDM) and the
Democratic Party (PDM) agree to form a minority government. The Liberals (PL)
choose to stand outside the coalition. PL opposes that the other two parties are
ready to agree to reign with the support of the Communists, while PLDM and PDM
say that PL has made impossible demands to obtain certain ministerial posts. The
new government has only 40 of Parliament's 101 seats. Analysts fear that such a
weak government, as well as dependent on the support of the Communists, will not
be able to continue its efforts to bring Moldova closer to the EU. Moldova needs
to implement in-depth reforms to curb corruption and depoliticize important
institutions such as the judiciary and the police.
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