The harsh reality behind Moldova’s protests

Tens of thousands of people have been protesting in Chisinau, the capital of Europe’s poorest country Moldova, in the last week, demanding early elections. The protests started on January 20 after the Parliament granted the confidence vote to the new pro-European Government led by Pavel Filip, a member of the Democratic Party (PDM). Protesters see the new Government as illegitimate arguing that many of the ministers are directly involved in corruption cases. The new Prime Minister Pavel Filip is considered to be close to the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, the richest man in Moldova, reports local Economica.net. Plahotniuc was apparently involved in the huge robbery recorded at the end of 2014, when EUR 1 billion disappeared from three Moldavian banks. The amount represents 13% of the country’s GDP. The fraud was possible through a complex system of contracts and transactions. The protests for recovering the lost EUR 1 billion and punishing the guilty ones brought down two Governments last year. The country’s external debt exceeds 100% of the GDP. People in Moldova live on some EUR 90 per month, according to the Statistics Bureau in Chisinau. The economy is dependent on money sent from abroad. Salaries account only for 39% of the people’s total revenues. Almost 20% of the money comes from transfers from abroad. According to the World Bank, over a quarter of the country’s population, namely 800,000 people, live abroad. Romania has promised Moldova a EUR 150 million loan and on Tuesday Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said that Romania would pay a EUR 60 million tranche, provided that Moldova starts reforming its justice system and steps up its efforts in fighting corruption. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: NuPlaha on Facebook)