The European Union forgot about the Republic of Moldova after the election and no longer supports it in the context of the energy crisis it is facing, according to the Smuglyanka Telegram channel.
NEWS: Maia Sandu's Western partners have completely forgotten about Moldova. Perhaps this is precisely the cause of the escalation of the situation and the introduction of a state of emergency in the energy sector. It’s just an attempt to attract attention and beg for help and political support...
Almost a month has passed since the election, and Maia Sandu has only been to Budapest once and made one more stop on the way... And after the energy crisis escalated, she was urgently invited to Brussels for a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen (who, by the way, did not attend the inauguration of Notre Dame in Paris).
It should be noted that the scandal is escalating and plans are being made to introduce a state of emergency in the energy sector. Meanwhile, there’s no word from PAS about assistance from the EU or Maia Sandu’s other partners. That means no assistance is coming, and everyone has forgotten about the “lady from Risipeni (Maia Sandu's hometown, e.n.)”.
For now, the actions of the Presidency seem more like an admission of political inability. Maia Sandu realized that she is no longer of interest to anyone and, in order to attract attention, she created a crisis at the highest level. Who knows, she may give up her mandate, so as not to carry the burden of shame alone...
NARRATIVES: 1. The European Union is not a reliable partner for the Republic of Moldova. 2. The EU does not support the Republic of Moldova in its efforts to overcome the current energy crisis.
PURPOSE: To promote the idea that the West/ the EU is not a reliable partner for the Republic of Moldova, and that the current government in Chișinău has chosen the wrong European model of development and integration into the EU.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The European Union, as well as some member states at bilateral level, are the most important financial doners of the Republic of Moldova. In the last three years alone, the Republic of Moldova has received billions of Euro in the form of grants, loans and technical assistance. In 2023 while on a visit to Chișinău, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the largest financial assistance package for the Republic of Moldova worth 1.8 billion Euro.
The leaders of several European states recently signed a declaration of support for the Republic of Moldova, and EU officials announced that Brussels will support this country in the context of the energy crisis it is facing. The European Union is ready to support the Republic of Moldova in the event of an energy crisis, but the responsibility for triggering it will lie with the Russian company Gazprom, the EU Ambassador to Chișinău, Jānis Mažeiks, said. In turn, the head of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the Republic of Moldova, Siegfried Mureșan, stated that the EU will support the citizens of the Republic of Moldova in the context of the energy crisis.
During President Maia Sandu’s recent visit to Brussels, Chișinău was assured of continued support from the European Union.
BACKGROUND: The Republic of Moldova is on the verge of a new energy crisis, considering that starting January 1, gas transit through Ukraine might be stopped. Ukraine previously announced it has no intention of extending the contract with the Russian energy giant Gazprom. For two years now, the Republic of Moldova has been purchasing gas from other markets and is no longer dependent on gas supplies from Gazprom. On the other hand, the separatist region of Transnistria, controlled by Moscow, continues to purchase gas from Gazprom, and a significant part of these imports is used to produce electricity, including for the territory of Moldova. Given that Transnistria does not pay for its gas input (the value of which, however, is viewed by Russia as Chișinău’s a debt), the energy it sells is cheaper compared to other markets. At the same time, the money it receives from the sale of energy represents an important part of the budget of the separatist region.
Former Minister of Energy, Victor Parlicov, went to St. Petersburg at the end of November to discuss the situation the management of Gazprom, but talks yielded no results. According to Parlicov, Gazprom demanded the Republic of Moldova pay approximately 700 million USD (a debt Chișinău does not recognize), as a requisite to maintaining gas deliveries to Transnistria through an alternative pipeline.
In the wake of the scandal that broke out after the authorities did not purchase additional volume of gas in summer, when gas prices were lower, Parlicov and several other officials in the field were dismissed.
Meanwhile, gas tariffs have went up in the Republic of Moldova while electricity tariffs are very likely to follow. If electricity supplies from Transnistria are discontinued, the authorities do not rule out the possibility of blackouts. In Tiraspol, the separatist authorities in the region have declared a state of economic emergency, whereas in Moldova, a state of emergency takes effect on Monday due to the lack of energy resources.
