Moldovan cabinet holds meeting

Chisinau, 9 December /MOLDPRES/ - Prime Minister Ion Chicu today chaired a cabinet meeting, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.  

The participants in the meeting informed about the recalling from office of Moldova’s Ambassador to Russia Andrei Neguta. The PM expressed indignation about the shameful actions which had taken place on the last days and harmed the image of Moldova. In the context, the prime minister asked Foreign Affairs Minister Aureliu Ciocoi to make proper order in the institution he leads.    

„It is clear that this action comes as a result of a shameful act. The things must be changed at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. In the last time, Moldova has been famous through smuggling actions committed by diplomats too often. This is a shame for the entire country,’’ PM Ion Chicu said.   

The cabinet of ministers voted the draft on the initiation of negotiations and approving the signing of the Agreement, compiled by exchange of notes, between the governments of Moldova and the Federative Republic of Brazil. The document’s goal is to develop and strengthen the friendship and cooperation relations between the two states by giving the citizens owning ordinary passports possibility to travel without visas. The agreement regulates the regime of free-visa travels for the owners of ordinary passports, who travel on the territory of the other state on purposes of tourism, transit or business for a period which does not exceed 90 days, during a period of 180 days, which implies taking into consideration the last period of 180 days before each day of stay.    

The government approved the draft law which provides for the covering of expenses for making the test for establishing the infection with the virus SARS-CoV-2 for the participation of sportspeople in national and international sports competitions at the expense of budget’s financial means. Thus, in 2021, about 2,000 sportspeople will be tested for establishing the infection with the COVID-19 infection. To enforce the draft, spending worth 1.7 million lei will be borne from and within the limit of the financial means approved in the budget of the Education, Culture and Research Ministry.

The cabinet of ministers ruled to set up the Agency for Military Science and Memory. The document provides for the reorganization of the Public Institution, Centre of Military History and Culture and the Centre of Strategic Defence and Security Studies at the Alexandru cel Bun Military Academy of Armed Forces, through their merger by the Agency for Military Science and Memory. The decision is aimed at rationalizing and optimizing the budget expenses in the fields of science, scientific research on the segment of security, defence and military memory, as well as ensuring the regime of the war graves and commemorative works.

The ministers approved a draft law which sees the monitoring of the quality of atmospheric air all over the country based on joint ways and criteria, established in line with the provisions of the European standards. To achieve the goals, 18 automated monitoring stations and a mobile station worth 915,000 euros are to be purchased and set. Presently, the Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Ministry confirms the intention of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) to buy a station for monitoring the air quality. This will allow staring the process of preliminary assessment of the air quality. The cabinet will provide the costs for maintaining and serving the equipment.   

The government will allocate 287,000 lei from the state budget for providing one-off allowances to six beneficiaries from five districts of Moldova. Five beneficiaries of them are participants in the fight for the defence of Moldova’s integrity and another person has disabilities resulted from the Chernobyl relief works.

In the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Ion Chicu informed that the next cabinet would be held on 14 December, when the notes on the amendments set by lawmakers will be approved. ‘’I want to thank the MPs who consider the financial laws and send us amendments to those four budgetary and fiscal laws, who a reasonable and understand how important is for the country to enter the 2021 year with these financial drafts approved,’’ the PM added.