In 2003, Moldova was a small landlocked country located in Eastern Europe. It had a population of around 4 million people, primarily speaking Moldovan and Russian. According to computergees, the capital city was Chisinau, which is home to the Presidential Palace and several other important government buildings and monuments. The economy relied heavily on its agricultural sector with wine being the main export item. Tourism was also popular due to its stunning countryside, ancient churches and vibrant cities such as Tiraspol and Balti. In addition to its natural beauty, Moldova had a rich cultural heritage with traditional music, cuisine and art that blended Slavic influences with those from Romania. Despite its many challenges including poverty and political unrest in 2003, Moldova remained a vibrant country that held great promise for its future generations.
Yearbook 2003
Moldova. During the year, the EU strengthened its ties with Moldova and at the same time strengthened relations with the Russian-speaking breakaway republic Dnestr. The EU issued, inter alia, travel ban for the leader of the Dnestr Republic. The European Security and Cooperation Organization (OSCE) proposed that the EU send a peace force to the area to monitor the tense relationship between Moldova and Dnestr.
According to Countryaah.com, Moldova Independence Day is August 27. Russia responded in November with a plan for Dnestr to join a federal Moldova without its own military. Instead, Russian troops would be responsible for the security of the federation. Moldova President Vladimir Voronin supported the proposal, which led to demonstrations demanding his departure. The opposition also demanded that Russia withdraw the military and weapons that remained in Dnestr since the Soviet era.
Moldova is Europe’s poorest country and the economic problems are also evident in the traditionally successful wine production. M. has lost more and more of its wine market following the transformation in Eastern Europe. In Russia, for example. the country must compete with the subsidized wine exports of the EU countries, and in the EU itself Moldovan exports are affected by fees. As a result, many small wineries have gone bankrupt.
Similar difficulties have hit the tobacco industry, which is also an important industry in M. Although the overall economy has grown in recent years, unemployment in some areas is as high as 50%.
It is estimated that over 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. This desperate situation has led to both human trafficking and organ trafficking. M. provides Europe with more prostitutes than any other country. In addition, it is common for poor molds to sell a kidney or other organ that can be used for transplantation in richer countries.
In June 2014, the country signed an association agreement with the EU as part of the Union’s Eastern Partnership Program. Romanian President Traian Băsescu had previously stated that Romania supported Moldova’s accession to the EU as soon as possible and that he would like to see Romania and Moldova united. While Moldova is overall positive towards the EU (51% of the population supported in November 2014 admission), the situation in the autonomous Gagauzia region was different. Here, 97.2% were against further cooperation with the EU, 98.4% were in return for joining the Customs Union between Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. 98.9% felt that Gagauzia should seek independence if Moldova’s united with Romania. Another conflict zone in Moldova was Transnistria, which had been ruled as an autonomous territory for more than 20 years. After Crimea voted in March 2014 to join Russia, Transnistria made a similar request to Moscow. The superpower policy therefore had the potential to tear the country apart.
In February 2015, Prime Minister Leancă resigned from the PLDM government party. He did not think the PLDM was sufficiently oriented towards accession to the EU. Instead, he formed a new conservative pro-EU party. It was the start of 1 year of parliamentary instability. He was followed by the post of Chiril Gaburici, however, who lasted only until June, when the state attorney brought a case against him for falsifying his exam papers. Then Natalia Gherman was Acting Prime Minister for 1 month. In July, the post was taken over by Valeriu Streleț, who held until October, when he fell for a vote of no confidence in parliament. Then Gheorghe Brega served as prime minister until February 2016, when the post was taken over by Pavel Filip of the Social Democratic PDM.
In addition to political instability, 2015 was characterized by corruption and economic scandal cases. In May, it was revealed that $ 1 billion US $ was stolen from three Moldovan banks by Moldovan / Israeli oligarch Ilan Shor. In September, tens of thousands joined demonstrations demanding the resignation of the president and government as a result of corruption. The following month, PLDM President and former Prime Minister Vladimir Filat rescinded parliamentary immunity due to corruption charges. Following the September demonstrations, protesters set up a tent camp in the capital Chişinău to continue the protests against the president and government. The tent camp continued to be manned by the end of the year.
The largest pride march to date was held in Chişinău in May with 300 participants. The police protected people who wanted to attack the LGBTI participants, but chose to end the march and drive the participants away on buses before reaching the destination.
In October-November 2016, presidential elections were held for the first time since 1996. In March, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling that the indirect presidential elections in which Parliament had elected the president since 2000 were in violation of the Constitution. In the first round, Social Democratic PSRM candidate Igor Dodon got 48.0%, while Liberal PAS candidate Maia Sandu got 38.7%. In the second round, Dodon gained 52.1%. The voting percentage was 53.5%. Dodon was posted to the post in December. At his deployment, he declared that Moldova would not recognize Crimea as part of Russia as Moldova wanted to improve relations with Ukraine.
In December 2016, Parliament raised the retirement age to 63, from 62 for men and 57 for women. The change was a demand from the IMF in return for loans.
In October 2017, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling that the president would be removed from office if he refused to appoint Eugen Sturza as new defense minister.