DOCSLIB.ORG

Moldova: from Oligarchic Pluralism to Plahotniuc's Hegemony

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Moldova: from Oligarchic Pluralism to Plahotniuc's Hegemony Centre for Eastern Studies NUMBER 208 | 07.04.2016 www.osw.waw.pl Moldova: from oligarchic pluralism to Plahotniuc’s hegemony Kamil Całus Moldova’s political system took shape due to the six-year rule of the Alliance for European Integration coalition but it has undergone a major transformation over the past six months. Resorting to skilful political manoeuvring and capitalising on his control over the Moldovan judiciary system, Vlad Plahotniuc, one of the leaders of the nominally pro-European Democra- tic Party and the richest person in the country, was able to bring about the arrest of his main political competitor, the former prime minister Vlad Filat, in October 2015. Then he pushed through the nomination of his trusted aide, Pavel Filip, for prime minister. In effect, Plahot- niuc has concentrated political and business influence in his own hands on a scale unseen so far in Moldova’s history since 1991. All this indicates that he already not only controls the judi- ciary, the anti-corruption institutions, the Constitutional Court and the economic structures, but has also subordinated the greater part of parliament and is rapidly tightening his grip on the section of the state apparatus which until recently was influenced by Filat. Plahotniuc, whose power and position depends directly on his control of the state apparatus and financial flows in Moldova, is not interested in a structural transformation of the country or in implementing any thorough reforms; this includes the Association Agreement with the EU. This means that as his significance grows, the symbolic actions so far taken with the aim of a structural transformation of the country will become even more superficial. Furthermo- re, the Moldovan government system, which has become monopolised by a single political centre, is very unstable. This is so because Plahotniuc’s position is strengthening, while 95% of the public declare a dislike of him. Given the arrogant manner in which Plahotniuc’s camp took power in the country, all this has rekindled protest sentiments, which are nevertheless unlikely to change the political situation in Moldova. It also seems unlikely that this situation could be affected by the restrained reactions from Moldova’s Western partners. From the alliance of the two oligarchs… the largest grouping in the coalition, and Vlad Plahotniuc, the informal but real leader and When the Alliance for European Integration took sponsor of the coalition’s second largest group- power in Moldova in 2009, it kicked off the grad- ing, the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM)1. ual process of subordinating the state apparatus to the leaders of the groupings which formed 1 Plahotniuc’s influence and power are to a great extent the government coalition (which was nominal- an effect of his close co-operation with President Vo- ly pro-European and implemented the policy of ronin (the leader of the Communist Party) and his son. When the Communists lost power, Plahotniuc became EU integration). The key actors and beneficiaries engaged in promoting his own political project, the of this process were Vlad Filat, the leader of the PDM. Funds offered by Plahotniuc helped the grouping enter parliament in July 2009 and become the second Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), largest force in the government coalition. OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 208 1 The two politicians and the third, smallest, … to Plahotniuc’s autocracy coalition partner, the Liberal Party (PL) led by Mihai Ghimpu, in fact divided influence and The turning point which led to the duopoly of positions in the country amongst themselves. power breaking took place on 15 October 2015, when – upon a motion from the prosecutor general, who was believed to be controlled by Vlad Filat and Vlad Plahotniuc, the lead- Plahotniuc – Filat was deprived of parliamenta- ers of the two main groupings in the ry immunity and was subsequently arrested by pro-European government coalition, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau and sent to were the key figures in the process of the jail. He was charged with being directly involved appropriation of the state apparatus. in siphoning off US$1 billion from the Moldo- van banking system at the end of 2014 and of accepting a bribe of US$250 million from Ilan The system formed this way functioned for Shor, the Israeli-Moldovan businessman who is more than 5 years, even though it was very believed to be the architect of this intrigue. unstable and would regularly generate polit- Plahotniuc’s influence began to expand rapidly ical crises. Although Filat and Plahotniuc for- after Filat was arrested. He managed to subor- mally speaking were allies in the coalition, in dinate to himself the greater part of the polit- reality they were business and political rivals, ical scene in just three months. The PLDM fell engaged in a constant struggle for expand- apart and became a marginal party, and some ing their political influence and control of the MPs from this party decided to openly support state apparatus. However, they were forced the candidate for prime minister put forward to maintain this temporary alliance which by the PDM. There was also an unprecedent- ensured them a parliamentary majority and ed split inside the Communist Party (PCRM) enabled them to remain in power and, con- – most (14) of its MPs left the party and de- sequently, to maintain their influence and clared they were willing to co-operate with the secure their political and business interests2. PDM. It also seems almost certain that Mihai Even though it seemed that both politicians Ghimpu’s Liberal Party is at present under Pla- remained equally strong, over time it could hotniuc’s strong influence. Many local activists be detected that it was Vlad Plahotniuc who and some primars (mayors), predominantly had larger assets and greater sway (especial- from the PLDM, have decided to join the struc- ly among the judiciary and partly in the law tures of the PDM. enforcement agencies) and who was more Capitalising on his ever stronger control of successful at limiting the position of his com- parliament, Plahotniuc made an attempt to petitor. The fact that Filat was dismissed from become prime minister himself. This decision the position of prime minister as a result of contradicted his previous strategy, which had the political crisis in 2013 was one sign of this. included avoiding holding any important posi- tions in the state administration, instead dele- gating people who were completely dependent on him or were members of his clan to these 2 For more information on the functioning of the oligar- positions. However, the nomination of Plahot- chic system focused around Filat and Plahotniuc see: Ka- niuc (despite pressure and alleged blackmail) mil Całus, A captured state? Moldova’s uncertain pros- pects for modernisation, OSW Commentary, 22 April was not accepted by President Nicolae Timof- 2015, http://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-com- ti, who entrusted the former prime minister, mentary/2015-04-22/appropriated-state-moldovas-un- certain-prospects-modernisation Ion Sturza, with the mission of forming the OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 208 2 government on 21 December 2015. Howev- agencies, were taken by people linked to Pla- er, Sturza failed to win a vote of confidence, hotniuc or technocrats with no political base. and the Constitutional Court, which was un- As a result, in addition to the institutions they der Plahotniuc’s influence, passed a decision already controlled (the judiciary, anti-corrup- restricting the president’s right to nominate tion institutions, the National Bank of Moldo- candidates for prime minister at his discretion3. va (NBM) and the Constitutional Court6), Pla- hotniuc’s clan gained control of the fiscal and customs services (which are a serious source of Plahotniuc’s influence began to expand revenue from corruption7) and the Ministry rapidly after Filat was arrested in October of Internal Affairs and the police. All state insti- 2015. He managed to subordinate to him- tutions and the management of state-owned self the greater part of the political scene companies have undergone an overhaul of per- in just three months. sonnel aimed at removing the PLDM’s nomi- nees and replacing them with people linked to Plahotniuc’s clan. Despite public and interna- Despite this, Timofti, referring to the Consti- tional protests, Plahotniuc’ clan has been tight- tutional Court’s decision of 2013 (stating that ening their grip on the institutions he already holding senior positions in the state adminis- controls. One example of this was the re-elec- tration by individuals of dubious honesty was tion of Mihai Poalelungi on 7 February 2016 as contrary to the law)4, refused to nominate Pla- president of the Supreme Court8. At the same hotniuc as a candidate for prime minister for time, business assets owned by Filat are being the second time, and instead put forward his seized. This process is presented as a way of re- secretary Ion Paduraru as candidate5. However, gaining the funds he had allegedly stolen from Paduraru withdrew from the mission of form- the Moldovan banking system9. Plahotniuc’s ing the government in circumstances which influence in the media sector, which is vast al- are yet to be defined. The PDM put forward ready, is also being expanded (this is described a compromise candidate, Pavel Filip, Plahot- in more detail below). niuc’s close and trusted associate. The president accepted this candidate. On 20 January 2016, The pillars of Plahotniuc’s system Filip won a vote of confidence in parliament and formed a new cabinet. The key positions in Vlad Plahotniuc (born in 1966) is a billionaire the new government, including those in charge and simultaneously the most important, the of financial flows and the law enforcement most controversial and the most mysterious 3 The decision from the Constitutional Court of the Repub- lic of Moldova of 29 December 2015 on the nomination 6 A number of decisions passed by the Constitutional Court of Ion Sturza for prime minister, http://www.constcourt.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Continuitate Și Discontinuitate În Reformarea Organizării Teritoriale a Puterii Locale Din Republica Moldova Cornea, Sergiu
    www.ssoar.info Continuitate și discontinuitate în reformarea organizării teritoriale a puterii locale din Republica Moldova Cornea, Sergiu Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Sammelwerksbeitrag / collection article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Cornea, S. (2018). Continuitate și discontinuitate în reformarea organizării teritoriale a puterii locale din Republica Moldova. In C. Manolache (Ed.), Reconstituiri Istorice: civilizație, valori, paradigme, personalități: In Honorem academician Valeriu Pasat (pp. 504-546). Chișinău: Biblioteca Științifică "A.Lupan". https://nbn-resolving.org/ urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-65461-2 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY-NC Lizenz (Namensnennung- This document is made available under a CC BY-NC Licence Nicht-kommerziell) zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu (Attribution-NonCommercial). For more Information see: den CC-Lizenzen finden Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.de MINISTERUL EDUCAȚIEI, CULTURII ȘI CERCETĂRII AL REPUBLICII MOLDOVA MINISTERUL EDUCAȚIEI, CULTURII ȘI CERCETĂRII AL REPUBLICII MOLDOVA INSTITUTUL DE ISTORIE INSTITUTUL DE ISTORIE BIBLIOTECA LUPAN” BIBLIOTECA LUPAN” Biblioteca Științică Biblioteca Științică Secția editorial-poligracă Secția editorial-poligracă Chișinău, 2018 Chișinău, 2018 Lucrarea a fost discutată și recomandată pentru editare la şedinţa Consiliului ştiinţific al Institutului de Istorie, proces-verbal nr. 8 din 20 noiembrie 2018 şi la şedinţa Consiliului ştiinţific al Bibliotecii Științifice (Institut) „Andrei Lupan”, proces-verbal nr. 16 din 6 noiembrie 2018 Editor: dr. hab. în științe politice Constantin Manolache Coordonatori: dr. hab. în istorie Gheorghe Cojocaru, dr. hab. în istorie Nicolae Enciu Responsabili de ediție: dr. în istorie Ion Valer Xenofontov, dr. în istorie Silvia Corlăteanu-Granciuc Redactori: Vlad Pohilă, dr.
    [Show full text]
  • The Russian Laundromat – a $70 Billion Money-Laundering Scheme Facilitated by Moldovan Political Elites
    The Russian Laundromat – a $70 billion money-laundering scheme facilitated by Moldovan political elites Authors: Sergiu Tofilat, Community WatchDog.MD Veaceslav Negruta, Transparency International Moldova Chisinau, June 2019 Abbreviations AML Anti-money laundering NAC National Anticorruption Center NBM National Bank of Moldova OPFML Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering SCM Supreme Council of Magistracy SCS Supreme Council of Security Executive summary In 2014, public opinion worldwide was staggered by revelations of a massive money laundering scheme in Eastern Europe published by the investigative journalists from OCCRP and dubbed the “Russian Laundromat”1. During 2010-2014, billions of US dollars from Russian banks were laundered through Moldovan banks, using illicit court rulings on defaulted fake debts. The laundered funds were further transferred to a group of shell companies having accounts in Western banks. Although law enforcement officers from Moldova pretend to have tracked down $20 billion of suspicious money, publicly available evidence shows that the real amount of laundered funds amounted to as much as $70 billion. Not a single person from the Moldovan banking supervisory or prosecution authorities has been sentenced so far for allowing this to take place on their watch. Moreover, several individuals directly involved were recently promoted to the Constitutional Court. This research summarizes the arguments on how Moldovan supervisory and prosecution authorities, captured by and subordinated to certain political elites, knowingly turned a blind eye on suspicious activities, while the Parliament and the Constitutional Court approved legislative changes to facilitate the money laundering scheme. 1. How the money was moved from Russia to Moldova and onward The laundered Russian money may have come from unsecured bank loans, fictitious acquisitions related to government contracts, misappropriation of funds from the Russian treasury, tax evasion and smuggling.
    [Show full text]
  • Jurnalistii 9.Indd
    Jurnaliștii contra corupţ iei9 Chişinău, 2014 CZU 328.185(478)(082)=135.1=161.1 J 93 Pictor: Ion Mîţu Această lucrare este editată cu suportul fi nanciar al Fundaţiei Est-Europene, din mijloacele oferite de Guvernul Suediei şi Ministerul Afacerilor Externe al Danemarcei. Opiniile exprimate în ea aparţin autorilor şi nu refl ectă neapărat poziţia Transparency International – Moldova şi a fi nanţatorilor. Difuzare gratuită Descrierea CIP a Camerei Naţionale a Cărţii Jurnaliştii contra corupţiei: [în Rep. Moldova] / Transparency Intern. Moldova; pictor: Ion Mâţu. – Ch.: Transparency Intern. Moldova, 2014 (Tipogr. “Bons Offi ces” SRL). – ISBN 978-9975-80-108-9 [Partea] a 9-a. – 2014. – 280 p. – Text: lb. rom., rusă. ISBN. 978-9975-80-864-4 800 ex. – 1. Jurnalişti – Corupţie – Republica Moldova – Combatere (rom., rusă). Copyright © Transparency International - Moldova, 2014 Transparency International - Moldova Str. „31 August 1989”, nr. 98, of. 205, Chişinău, Republica Moldova, MD-2004 Tel. (373-22) 203484, e-mail: offi [email protected] www.transparency.md ISBN 978-9975-80-108-9 ISBN 978-9975-80-864-4 Cuprins: Cuvânt înainte .................................................................................................... 6 Copiii satului şi afacerile primarului, Tudor Iaşcenco .................................. 7 Imperiul lui Plahotniuc, Mariana Rață........................................................ 11 Interesele avocatului copilului sau pentru cine lucrează Tamara Plămădeală?, Natalia Porubin ..................................................................... 16 Locuinţe ieftine pentru procurori bogaţi, Olga Ceaglei ..............................21 Localitatea Ghidighici, „afacerea” familiei Begleţ, Lilia Zaharia .............. 25 Сага о недоступе к информации, Руслан Михалевский ........................ 27 Cât l-a costat pe Nichifor luxul de la puşcărie?, Iana Zmeu ....................... 33 Averile şi veniturile ascunse ale procurorului Gherasimenco. „El se temea să nu-l afl e lumea că are casă aşa de mare”, Pavel Păduraru ..........
    [Show full text]
  • Studia Politica 1 2016
    www.ssoar.info Republic of Moldova: the year 2015 in politics Goșu, Armand Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Zeitschriftenartikel / journal article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Goșu, A. (2016). Republic of Moldova: the year 2015 in politics. Studia Politica: Romanian Political Science Review, 16(1), 21-51. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-51666-3 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY-NC-ND Lizenz This document is made available under a CC BY-NC-ND Licence (Namensnennung-Nicht-kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitung) zur (Attribution-Non Comercial-NoDerivatives). For more Information Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den CC-Lizenzen finden see: Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.de Republic of Moldova The Year 2015 in Politics ARMAND GO ȘU Nothing will be the same from now on. 2015 is not only a lost, failed year, it is a loop in which Moldova is stuck without hope. It is the year of the “theft of the century”, the defrauding of three banks, the Savings Bank, Unibank, and the Social Bank, a theft totaling one billion dollars, under the benevolent gaze of the National Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the General Prosecutor's Office, the National Anti-Corruption Council, and the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS). 2015 was the year when controversial oligarch Vlad Plakhotniuk became Moldova's international brand, identified by more and more chancelleries as a source of evil 1. But 2015 is also the year of budding hope that civil society is awakening, that the political scene is evolving not only for the worse, but for the better too, that in the public square untarnished personalities would appear, new and charismatic figures around which one could build an alternative to the present political parties.
    [Show full text]
  • OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 168 1 European Integration (AIE)
    Centre for Eastern Studies NUMBER 168 | 22.04.2015 www.osw.waw.pl An appropriated state? Moldova’s uncertain prospects for modernisation Kamil Całus There have been several significant changes on Moldova’s domestic political scene in the wake of the November 2014 parliamentary elections there. Negotiations lasted nearly two months and re- sulted in the formation of a minority coalition composed of two groupings: the Liberal-Democratic Party (PLDM) and the Democratic Party (PDM). New coalition received unofficial support from the Communist Party (PCRM), which had previously been considered an opposition party. Contrary to their initial announcements, PDLM and PDM did not admit the Liberal Party led by Mihai Ghim- pu to power. Moreover, they blocked the nomination for prime minister of the incumbent, Iurie Leancă. Leancă has been perceived by many as an honest politician and a guarantor of reforms. This situation resulted in the political model present in Moldova since 2009 being preserved. In this model the state’s institutions are subordinated to two main oligarch politicians: Vlad Filat (the leader of PLDM) and Vlad Plahotniuc (a billionaire who de facto controls PDM). With control over the state in the hands of Filat and Plahotniuc questions are raised regarding the prospects of Moldova’s real modernisation. It will also have a negative impact on the process of implementation of Moldova’s Association Agreement with the EU and on other key reforms concerning, for example, the judiciary, the financial sector and the process of de-politicisation of the state’s institutions. From both leaders’ perspective, any changes to the current state of affairs would be tantamount to limiting their influence in politics and the economy, which would in turn challenge their business activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Winds of Change in the Transnistrian Settlement Process HIIA PAPERS Series of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
    HIIA Papers T-2012/1 ZSUZSANNA VÉGH Winds of Change in the Transnistrian Settlement Process HIIA PAPERS Series of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Publisher: Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Editor and typesetting: Andrea Tevelyné Kulcsár Editorial office: H-1016 Budapest, Bérc utca 13-15. Tel.: +36 1 279-5700 Fax: +36 1 279-5701 E-mail: [email protected] www.kulugyiintezet.hu www.hiia.hu © Zsuzsanna Végh, 2012 © Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, 2012 ISSN 2060-5013 Zsuzsanna Végh Winds of Change A RESOLV A BLE CONFLI C T A T THE BO R DE R S OF THE EU R OPE A N UNION he Transnistrian conflict is often referred to as the most easily resolvable territorial conflict in the neighbourhood of the European Union (EU). The reason is the Tnature of the conflict. For one, there has been no violence since the Transnistrian war in 1992 between the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria, the separatist entity and it is very unlikely that any violent clash would occur in the future. For two, as opposed to other territorial conflicts in the post-Soviet space, the conflict between Moldova and Transnistria is not based on ethnic differences. Both Moldova and Transnistria are ethnically mixed, there is no ethnic violence between Moldovans, Russians and Ukrainians, and the inhabitants of both territories generally have multiple citizenships. The resolution, nonetheless, despite several attempts, is still only a distant goal. The EU became engaged in the resolution of the Transnistrian conflict in 2005 through the so-called ‘5+2 talks’ which got to a halt in 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by the Republic of Moldova
    AS/Mon(2012)03 rev 14 March 2012 amondoc03r_2012 or. Engl. Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Republic of Moldova Information note by the co-rapporteurs on their fact-finding visit to Chisinau (28 November – 1 December 2011) 1 Co-rapporteurs: Ms Lise CHRISTOFFERSEN, Norway, Socialist group, and Mr Piotr WACH, Poland, Group of the European People’s Party 1 This information note has been made public by decision of the Monitoring Committee dated 13 March 2012. F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex | e-mail: [email protected] | Tel: + 33 3 88 41 2000 | Fax: +33 3 88 41 2733 AS/Mon(2012)03rev I. Introduction 1. After a first visit to Chisinau and Comrat in March 2011 (see doc. AS/Mon (2011) 13 rev), we paid a second fact-finding visit to the Republic of Moldova from 28 November to 1 December 2011. The programme of the visit is appended. We intended to address the implementation of Resolution 1572 (2007) on The honouring of obligations and commitments by Moldova, Resolutions 1666 (2009) and 1692 (2009) on The functioning of democratic institutions , the state of play of the election of the President of the Republic, and other current issues, such as the reform of the judiciary, the action taken to combat corruption and organised crime, the legislation and measures to combat discrimination and the latest developments in Transnistria. 2. The support of the Moldovan delegation to the PACE, the Moldovan parliament, and Mr Ulvi Akhundlu, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, was again precious for facilitating our meetings, including with the acting President and Speaker, Mr Marian Lupu, the Prime Minister, Mr Filat, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Leanca, the Vice-Speaker of the parliament, Mr Plahotniuc, high-level representatives of the judiciary and enforcement bodies, representatives of the media and NGOs.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Opinion Survey Residents of Moldova
    Public Opinion Survey Residents of Moldova March 2016 Detailed Methodology • The survey was coordinated and analyzed by Dr. Rasa Ališauskienė from public opinion and market research company Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization on behalf of the International Republican Institute. The field work was carried out by Magenta Consulting. • Data was collected throughout Moldova (except in Transnistria) between March 11-25, 2016 through face-to-face interviews at respondents’ homes. • The main sample consisted of 1,500 permanent residents of Moldova older than the age of 18 and eligible to vote with an oversample in the capital Chisinau. It is representative of the general population by age, gender, education, region and size of the settlement. • Multistage probability sampling method was used with the random route and next birthday respondent’s selection procedures. • Stage one: all districts of Moldova are grouped into 11 groups. All regions of Moldova were surveyed. • Stage two: selection of the settlements: cities and villages. o Settlements were selected at random. o The number of selected settlements in each region was proportional to the share of population living in a particular type of the settlement in each region. • Stage three: primary sampling units were described. • The margin of error does not exceed plus or minus 2.8 percent. • Response rate was 50 percent. • Charts and graphs may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. • The survey was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy. 2 Overwhelming Dissatisfaction with Status
    [Show full text]
  • Public Opinion Survey Residents of Moldova
    Public Opinion Survey Residents of Moldova September 2016 Detailed Methodology • The survey was coordinated by Dr. Rasa Ališauskienė from the public opinion and market research company, Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization on behalf of the International Republican Institute. The field work was carried out by Magenta Consulting. • Data was collected throughout Moldova (with the exception of Transnistria) between September 1–23, 2016 through face- to-face interviews at respondents’ homes. • The main sample consisted of 1,516 permanent residents of Moldova older than the age of 18 and eligible to vote. The survey also contained an oversample in the capital of Chisinau. It is representative of the general population by age, gender, education, region and size of the settlement. • Multistage probability sampling method was used with the random route and next birthday respondent’s selection procedures. • Stage One: All districts of Moldova are grouped into 11 groups. All regions of Moldova were surveyed. • Stage Two: Selection of the settlements – cities and villages. o Settlements were selected at random. o The number of selected settlements in each region was proportional to the share of population living in a particular type of the settlement in each region. • Stage Three: Primary sampling units were described. • The margin of error does not exceed plus or minus 2.8 percent. • The response rate was 61 percent. • Charts and graphs may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. • The survey was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.
    [Show full text]
  • Puterea Hibridă Și Actorii
    IDIS „Viitorul” reprezintă o instituţie de cercetare, instruire și iniţiativă publică, care Institutul pentru Dezvoltare și Iniţiative Sociale (IDIS) „Viitorul” activează pe o serie de domenii legate de: analiză economică, guvernare, cercetare politică, planificare strategică și management al cunoștinţelor. IDIS activează în calitate de platformă comună care reunește tineri intelectuali, preocupaţi de succesul tranziţiei spre economia de piaţă și societatea deschisă în Republica Moldova. Institutul pentru Dezvoltare și Iniţiative Sociale (IDIS) „Viitorul” este succesorul de drept al Fundaţiei Viitorul, și păstrează în linii mari tradiţiile, obiectivele și principiile de acţiune ale Institutul pentru Dezvoltare şi Iniţiative Sociale (IDIS) „Viitorul” fundaţiei, printre care se numără: formarea de instituţii democratice și dezvoltarea unui spirit de responsabilitate efectivă printre oamenii politici, funcţionari publici și cetăţenii ţării noastre, consolidarea societăţii civile și spiritului critic, promovarea libertăţilor și valorilor unei societăţi deschise, modernizate și pro-europene. RAPORT DE PREVENIRE PUTEREAA CRIZELOR HIBRIDĂ Ianuarie - Aprilie 2011 ȘI ACTORII SĂI Operațiunea „Laundromat”: ANALIZA ACTORILOR ȘI ACȚIUNILOR ÎNTREPRINSE Cornel Ciurea Leonid Litra Operațiunea „Laundromat”: ANALIZAVeaceslav ACTORILOR Berbeca ȘI ACȚIUNILOR ÎNREPRINS E Alexandru Fala 1 1 Veaceslav BERBECA Ion TĂBÂRȚĂ Peer Review: Igor MUNTEANU Institutul pentru Dezvoltare str. Iacob Hâncu 10/1, Chișinău 373 / 22 221844 tel offi[email protected] Monitor de și
    [Show full text]
  • Moldova's Political Crisis Abates
    CRS INSIGHT Moldova's Political Crisis Abates June 20, 2019 (IN11137) | Related Author Cory Welt | Cory Welt, Specialist in European Affairs ([email protected], 7-0530) On June 14, 2019, a political crisis in Moldova ended when leaders of the formerly ruling Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) agreed to dissolve the outgoing government in favor of a new coalition. The coalition includes a reform- oriented, Western-leaning alliance, ACUM (or "Now"), and the socially conservative, Russian-leaning Party of Socialists, which placed first in Moldova's February 2019 elections. Moldova is one of three post-Soviet states that, together with Ukraine and Georgia, have sought greater integration with the West while coping with separatist territories occupied by Russian forces. Many Members of Congress have long supported Moldova's democratic trajectory and territorial integrity and have called on Russia to respect Moldova's sovereignty and withdraw its military forces. Growing Discontent Moldova's political environment was increasingly contentious before the recent crisis. The PDM gained power in 2016 after the prior government collapsed amid fallout from a bank fraud case involving the alleged loss of some $1 billion, equivalent to more than 12% of Moldova's gross domestic product. ACUM leaders and many observers contend that the PDM, in particular party leader and wealthy businessman Vlad Plahotniuc, effectively "captured" Moldova's state institutions for personal and party gain. In summer 2018, mass protests opposed a court decision to annul a snap mayoral election in Chisinau, Moldova's capital, which had been won by Andrei Nastase, who later became one of ACUM's two co-leaders.
    [Show full text]
  • Dgapkompakt / Nr
    DGAP kompakt Nr. 11 / April 2016 Moldova at an Impasse Can the Formation of the Latest Government Forestall Crisis? Sarah Pagung European and Moldovan politicians both tend to reduce Moldovan politics – and the EU’s policy toward the country – to a simple formula: “European Union vs. Eurasian Union.” While the debate about the direction of Moldova’s foreign policy is certainly of enormous importance, it tends to distract from two other significant facts: the coun- try’s longstanding corruption and its inability to push through effective reforms. The Moldovan public is still reeling from the discovery in December 2014 that as much as a billion euros had vanished from three Moldovan banks, but the coutry’s political situation remains at an impasse. The corruption and self-interest of Moldova’s politi- cal elite consistently impede the development of the small Eastern European country and its rapprochement with the EU. Whatever its geopolitical preferences, Moldova remains in the hands of the elite. At present, the EU is not presenting any robust so- lutions to the problem. In late January in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, President The Government Coalition Wants to Nicolae Timofti appointed a new government under Prevent New Elections Prime Minister Pavel Filip – the fifth government since Pavel Filip’s appointment as prime minister met with parliamentary elections were held in December 2014. The vigorous public protest. In the run-up to the December latest of these had collapsed in the fall of 2015, brought elections, President Timofti had initially refused to nomi- down by the “Great Moldovan Bank Robbery”: the dis- nate the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, the candidate of covery, shortly before the December 2014 parliamentary the pro-European government coalition.
    [Show full text]