Moldovan premier’s speech at one-year anniversary of government’s swearing in office

Dear representatives of mass media, dear fellow countrymen,

At one year of this government’s existence, maybe it is good that we do just what any good manager does. Let us draw lines and sum up.  

Certainly, many assessments can be made. I have seen more reports from ministries too. There have been things that went on well and things which creak in continuation and should be mended. Yet, I believe that, before looking at different figures, we should look at people, at communities and see what we could do directly for them in 2016.  

It was a difficult year. A year during which no miracles could be done. We came from a 2015 year, which deprived the country both of money and of the foreigners’ respect in its forces, either we speak about development partners or investors. Although some people, given that it was an electoral year, were pouring promises at the TV, of which many were whopping.      

Yet, it was a year when we managed to achieve two things which are more valuable than the reports. First of all, we regained the reliability of Moldova in the world. Presently, the development partners regard as with trust again. Or, this means also real money, which began coming to the country again. And I think that the second important thing is that we managed to re-animate a small hope in people that there are chances for the better.

I am aware that, at present, it is difficult to persuade so many people who live hard in this country that, in 2016, a real framework was created for us to edify solid things in the next years. Things which are not to be destroyed at the first crisis. Yet, I also know that those who are skilled in figures, in economy, understand very well that the steps made by this government put Moldova on the good path again. Bother they and the foreign partners know that the reforms, once started being implemented up to the last village, produce clear effects in the life of each man. We started namely such deep reforms in 2016. And as people understand their purpose, no crisis will be able to cease the change and modernization of this country.    

Yet, our role, and we still have much to learn, is that we are able to explain the people, day by day, why these reforms, which often sound quite technically, can transform Moldova into a country similar to the ones where many young people dream to go.   

Therefore, the thing which we had to do, before any reform, was to focus on social measures. As the risk not to be able pay the pensions and salaries was high. The social measures were, hence, quite urgent in the beginning of the last year. With them, we aimed at easing the living of the categories of the citizens who lead a mostly difficult life. We increased the minimum guaranteed salary in the real sector from 1,900 to 2,100 lei, we indexed the pensions by ten per cent. Yes, I speak about the pensions’ indexation as about an achievement, at it seemed to be unreal in the beginning of the year too. We increased the allowances for bringing up children. At the same time, we started a very necessary reform of the pensions system, which is to ensure the fairness in the system and will create resources to back it in the long term. It is not fair when the pension of some categories accounts for 75 per cent of the average salary, while for the overwhelming majority of the pensioners this replacement rate is thrice lower, of only 26 per cent of the salary. At the same time, it is not fair when some tax payers have also other unexplainable facilities, which deal, for instance, with the retirement age or length of pensionable service. These inequities will be removed by the reform which we implement.           

We have managed to make an important 40-per cent cut in prices for about 160 medicines. Before this, we increased the allocations for the compensated medication by 50 per cent and extended their list by 67. Thus, the families from Moldova pay less for purchasing medicines. On the other hand, we instructed a 20-per cent increase in the salaries of medical employees, as well as approval, within this salary increase, of a new mechanism of wage payment, based on the performance indexes.    

I know that these measures are not enough, when poverty is still at the high level; yet, we tried to settle the most urgent problems of the people, concomitantly with the de-blocking of big projects, which will bring, next years, much more substantial effects for each citizen.   

And given that the conversation turned upon figures and big projects, economists understand for sure four of them, which make us being optimistic in 2017. The first one: about 500 million euros represents the overall external sums de-blocked for Moldova in 2016 alone. The second figure: over 350 million euros unlocked for the next years already. The third figure: an economic growth of 3.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), forecast by specialists. And, in the end, the fourth one – the inflation rate of 2.4 per cent, the second lowest inflation rate in the 25 years of independence.   

Dear citizens,

We took over this government in complicated conditions, in a moment of deep political, economic and social crisis. I said back when taking over the mandate, that the only chance of this government is to avoid the excessive politicizing and the populism. To speak less and do more. I said at that time that we should work correctly with the development partners.  

Another fundamental element which contributed to the optimizing of the governance was the relation with the foreign partners. With each promise kept, the government proved that it is able to assume and observe the serious commitments. Our relation with the development partners is now based on support for concrete actions and results. This is an approach which I regard as correct, stimulating for the governance and I thank our partners for the substantial support they are providing to Moldova’s citizens and modernization of our country.  

All those who attacked the efforts of the government and parliament in the country and abroad, all those who tried to block the approval of the programme with IMF, to thwart the efforts of civil servants, of all good-faith citizens to re-establish the country’s stability presently get a quite tough answer of the reality. Just as the song says: “But we are happy in their defiance…” for the results achieved. I hope that the reality will awaken and stop them from other similar cynical attempts to keep the country in crisis and instability. And my message for these politicians, the so-called new political establishment, is as follows: Prove that you are better than the parties at rule, not that you are worse and more destructive, just as you did in 2016! The government expects with interest constructive ideas and solutions from the opposition, realistic and useful for people! And I would like you to understand from the aforementioned figures that your cynical jamming did not yield results. Moldova has not gotten deeper in the political, social and economic crisis; on the contrary, it has successfully overcome the crisis from the beginning of the last year.    

Yet, everybody have their faults, sometime we make mistakes; but I would like that we eventually get to a constructive approach in Moldova. I would like a fairer political competition, which is to have at its basis a competition of good ideas for the people. I regard the 2016 year as one from which the government should learn that only the results can be its visiting card. Only they can bring reliability, both inside the country and on the international stage. I sincerely believe that the opposition parties should learn to be better than those at rule, correctly understand the failure recorded in the campaign of blocking the government’s work.      

Ladies and gentlemen,

After the first year of governance, things change and we have international certification: just on last Friday, the Moody’s international agency – a benchmark for foreign investors, improved Moldova’s country rating from Negative B3 to Stable. Also last week, the European Commission provided us a programme of macro-financial assistance of 100 million euros for stabilization and development. Yet, just as I have said, the most important ranking Moldova must receive is the one from its citizens. Or the duty of the government I lead is to work day by day, to gradually improve these figures about which I talk, so that they become concrete prosperity in people’s homes.   

What we succeeded in 2016 allow us building. And this is due to several results.

In last November, for instance, our country signed an Agreement with the International Monetary Fund worth 180 million dollars. Due to it, Moldova is backed in the adoption of structural reforms in the next years. This would have not been possible, if we did not prove that we are able to adopt and implement difficult reforms. We would not have succeeded, if we did not prove seriousness in the observance of a very strict Roadmap with the European Union.

Also, starting from 1 July 2016, we have been officially associated with the European Union, and this year, we were Europeans more in deeds and less in words. Moldova is presently validated and certified by the development partners, as well as by the international business as a country in which investments can be made.  

And given that a string of political jamming has appeared in the society on the last days, I reiterate our quite firm message, this time for the development partners and for investors: I assure you that Moldova’s foreign policy vector is the European one and both the government I lead and the parliament will implement the Association Agreement with every determination. These two institutions are fully responsible and also have the constitutional force to fulfill the commitments already taken by our country.    

Also, I want to attract everybody’s attention to an important thing. We should do in such a way that these stage victories, gained by the country, pave an irreversible  way towards a better living of the people. Yet, the better living will not come, if we continue, just as it has happened in the last 25 years, to dialogue, some from the institution’s office, and the others in street. I have said and I repeat: I lead a government which wants to take out the barriers and barricades between the institutions and the people. The solutions are found together at the table, not in the street. Nobody comes to invest in a country hit by protests. Or the protests are justified only when a problem is not understood or is ignored by an institution. Yet, we all know what problems we have and we also should be able to settle them together.      

One year ago, I took over the governance in a critical moment, with thousands of people in the street. At that time, I demanded that we are judged according to the results. We could certainly do better. Yet, I believe that we can have a moderate optimism. 

At the same time, the efforts to bring investments to the country could not be fulfilled, if we first did not strengthen the banking system. We made proper order and consolidated the banking system, including through measures due to ensure the independence of the National Bank (BNM). We also took measures to strengthen the transparency and quality of shareholders in banks. We improved, as state, the risk management in banks. The legislation discussed by the government and subsequently approved by the parliament will significantly contribute to improving the corporate governance and the systems of risks management in the banking sector, and will also provide BNM additional powers and instruments for tasks of supervision and resolution. The process comprised two trends: (a) prudential framework and (b) bringing banks to normal and their resolution. This was very much appreciated by the foreign partners.      

The 2016 year also meant reforms in the justice sector. As a result of joint efforts of the government and parliament, the law on re-organization of law courts (judicial map) was adopted. We will reform the judicial system in our country based on it. Starting from 1 August 2016, the new Law Prosecution and the package of laws on integrity entered into force. They created the structures and mechanisms for a better prevention and fighting of corruption. Also, with the parliament’s support, we adopted completions to the Criminal Code, which allow bringing a criminal action for frauds committed in the management of foreign funds (including European ones).   

Just I have repeatedly said that Moldova’s agriculture is our country’s wealth. In agriculture, we managed to keep our word and pay off all arrears in the subsidies – for 2014, 2015 and 2016. I also note that the unlocking of the European funds for Moldova had a direct effect in agriculture by the transfer of 17 million euros of the ENPARD programme just last month. This is the first installment related to this programme and we will continue receiving money, if we prove the same seriousness in the long run as well.     

Another important thing. We have finally made proper order in the public money and we approved in advance the draft state budget law for 2017, passed in parliament in last mid-December. For the first time in the last three years, Moldova entered a new year with an adopted budget, just as any serious and responsible state. We also started the reform in the tax and customs administration sectors and the results were seen: the Tax Service collected by one billion lei more and the Customs Service collected by 1.6 billion lei more.

For the business environment, 2016 meant a cut by one quarter in the number of authorizations, permits and licences. At the same time, we established a moratorium on state controls and then we worked out a new mechanism of carrying out controls. This mechanism provides for the reduction of the number of entities with control duties from 69 to 18, including five independent regulators. We also undertook a string of measures to back to sector of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), understanding that this can be an engine for creating new jobs and economic growth. All these actions, as well as the other ones, allowed us improving the indexes in the attractiveness of the business environment. Our country went up three positions in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking.  

As for the energy system too, we made steps to connect it to the European one. We got 550,000 euros on behalf of Romania’s government to finance the project for the gas pipeline Ungheni-Chisinau, as well as financing for the construction of this gas pipeline worth 102 million euros on behalf of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission. The construction of this important project will start this year.  

As far as the transports sector is concerned, we voted the reform of the Road Fund at the government, which will generate de-politicizing of the field and introduction of objective criteria in the earmarking of money to the local authorities. We introduced the single desk for the issuance of permissive acts in the road transport field. The 2017 year will be a year of road infrastructure projects and we mean modernization of many kilometers of roads, as well as the launch of projects of bypass highways.

In the education sector, we should recognize that, as late as in the beginning of this year, some measures, expected by teachers for a long time, started working better. We have an honest dialogue with the trade unions and we started finding solutions to problems. Just last Wednesday, we already gave an important signal that that we are able to resonate with the needs of the teachers. At the same time, I should say you that we still have a very complicated, dense and unfair legal framework on the payment of wages to the budgetary sector employees. A working group is already dealing with the elaboration of a new framework.    

I want to tell all Moldova’s citizens that the country’s reunification by the settlement of the Transnistrian problem has always been in our focus. Last summer, we managed, after a two-year break, to resume the discussions in the five-plus-two format, and subsequently marked a number of sectoral achievements. We have the hope of new progress in 2017. I repeat to those who let themselves impressed by recent statements that the government and parliament will maintain the direction started in these problems. We will have no hesitations, just as Moldova’s course towards European integration remains our only country project.      

We also worked out a draft national strategy of defence and put it to public discussion. The NATO Liaison Office in Chisinau starts working beginning with next March, thus initiating a welcome dialogue and cooperation useful for our national army. 

Important investments have been made in the cultural infrastructure as well. I remind the restoration of the Dadiani centre of the National Art Museum of Moldova, starting the works for the restoration of the Organ Hall and Cahul-based Theatre, due to a two-million-euros grant, offered by the Romanian government and due to the effort by the former prime minister, Iurie Leanca. Also, with the support of the U.S. Government, we started the renovation of the Assumption of the Virgin church from Causeni. One of the important achievements of this year, which passed less noticed, is also the providing of life annuity to 100 personalities of the culture sector. I wanted them to get proper respect also on behalf of the state for contribution to the development of our culture.  

Dear friends, as a man who is less politician and more a manager, it has been not at all easy for me in this year, when Moldova gave an important test of the presidential elections. I know that it was not easy to my colleagues either. There were sometimes downright hallucinating attacks on us. Nevertheless, we learned that they cannot tarnish or attack as much as we can edify and reform. They can say and do anything, but they cannot fight against the truth.   

Therefore, the observance of the commitments and their implementation should not be the exception of the 2016 year, but a rule for this government till 2018, as well as for the cabinets following the parliamentary elections due in 2018. The people will start strongly trusting the country’s future only through seriousness for medium and long term, doubled by concrete results. As it is true that they were deeply disappointed in 2015 and felt themselves betrayed.  

There is no time either for holidays or for slowing down the pace. The results must not only be maintained, but also should be felt in the pocket of each citizen. This is our goal for 2017 and 2018 – to make the progress obvious for everybody, not to leave anyone behind.   

Certainly, we also have dissatisfactions, there are things which I would like to go better. I mean especially some reforms. We wanted to as quickly as possible  recover the time lost during the political crises. Here I refer to the administration reform, government’s reform, - things which yet need more time, as they substantially change the way the most important institutions work and any mistake can cost us hugely. Therefore, we ruled to involve including the foreign consultancy in this process – professionals due to help us act as fairly and as efficiently as possible. 

Although the relation with the civil society has improved against the previous period and we now have a useful and constructive dialogue, I think that there is still room for the better. I would like a more active involvement by professional organizations from the civil society, which benefit from professionals and could give more expertise to the reforms we commit to carry out. We appreciate the dialogue with the civil society, we promoted it in 2016 and we will continue to promote it. Transparency is essential for the health of a democracy. Therefore, I believe that the civil society should permanently participate in the decision-making process of the central administration. To this end, we will soon create the National Participation Council under the Government.        

The quick pace in which we had to work to recover the gaps, especially as concerns the programme with IMF and implementation of the Association Agreement, maybe did not give us enough time to communicate more actively, to have more time for consultations, just as we would like to. Yet, I hope that we will improve this during time, without getting to be a government more concerned about its public appearances than necessary.   

The 2017 year will be a difficult year for the governance; yet, we want it to be a good year for Moldova’s citizens. We have commitments before the development partners and we will continue fulfilling them.

On the one hand, we will bring order and cleanliness to the system. We fight corruption and remove the useless spending. We ease and increase the budget revenues by a more direct and a simpler relation of the institutions with the citizen and the business environment. We want de-bureaucratization and enhancement of investors’ trust in Moldova. The benchmarks are as follows: reform of the central administration, including the reform of the State Chancellery, reform of the public procurement and ensuring the budgetary transparency, in the fiscal and customs administration, reform of the mechanism of recovering the assets coming from criminal activities, especially of corruption and money laundering.       

The recovering of the billion remains a priority too. Over 700 million lei has been recovered in Moldova. We also plan to additionally recover more than 1.5 billion lei also at the expense of selling banks’ assets. Over 900 million lei has been already reimbursed to the National Bank of Moldova, a process which continues. At the same time, the work of the law-enforcement bodies investigating this big fraud was focused including on the part of returning the embezzled financial means, at the expense of alienating the sequestrated assets of perpetrators, which will make possible the collection of more than two billion lei. Additionally, on the external stage, the KROLL investigation has already identified 600 million dollars and, at the first phase, it will come up with a concrete plan on recovery, both of the embezzled money, which got into banking accounts of other states and of the assets got from them.    

There is political will; it remains only to establish the best concrete ways of continuing to recover the money.

Ensuring the efficient management of the foreign financial assistance, reform of the state controls and improvement of the business environment, local administration’s reform, ensuring energy security come additionally to these reforms.  

On the other hand, the state’s care for the citizen and the quality of his/her living is in the focus of the government’s work. We target the implementation of a new labour code, reform of the system of labour force employment, implementation of the pension system’s reform, hospital reform, reform of the primary medical assistance, reform of the system of supervising the public health, curricular reform and essential reforms dealing with the social protection. 

I want to thank the government colleagues and tell them that the expectations are higher this year. I am confident that they will be as serious as so far. We enjoyed also, on this period, the understanding of the colleagues from the majority coalition – a thing for which I am grateful to them and I thank them for the solid political support provided to the government.  

Dear friends,

I want to thank, in particular, our friends from abroad for every support they offered us in 2016 and for having had patience for us to be able to prove seriousness. I thank the European citizens, as the hundreds of millions of euros received from the EU zone as support is not coming from the heaven, but represent the fruit of their work. Nobody is allowed to forget. This support is meant for improving our citizens’ living standards, so that Moldova also becomes a prosperous country member of the European family.   

I would like to end with a phrase which marked the last days of my work. In a press release by which the European Commission was informing about the earmarking of the 100 million for Moldova, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici said: “Moldova’s recent efforts to stabilize the economy and to approach the long-term vulnerabilities must be supported.” I want the Moldovans to embrace the attitude of the European Commissioner Moscovici and have as much confidence in this government as the Europeans have: we should everybody back the reforms, which are necessary. And we should not forget that   trust is at the basis of development.