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    Moldova and Transnistria Situation Thread

    George1
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    Post  George1 Mon Dec 01, 2014 1:54 am

    Parties supporting Eurasian integration leading in Moldova parliamentary elections

    Party of Socialists is gaining 23.4%, the Party of Communists is in second place with 20.2%

    CHISINAU, December 1. /TASS/. Two parties supporting Eurasian integration are leading in Moldova’s parliamentary elections held Sunday, according to preliminary results from the Moldovan Central Election Commission (CEC).

    The Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) is gaining 23.4% with 30% of ballots counted. The Party of Communists is in second place with 20.2%.

    They are followed by parties making part of the ruling pro-European coalition - the Liberal Democratic Party (17%), the Democratic Party (16.4%), the Liberal Party (5.8%). The other parties are not passing the 6-percent electoral threshold.
    Zivo
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    Post  Zivo Mon Dec 01, 2014 9:56 am

    While the party that gained the most support is pro Russian, the coalition of pro-EU parties garnered more total support. There's a good chunk of Moldavians/moldovites/whatever giving the EU the middle finger.

    This country is going to have a rocky marriage with the EU.
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    Post  etaepsilonk Mon Dec 01, 2014 1:36 pm

    Zivo wrote:While the party that gained the most support is pro Russian, the coalition of pro-EU parties garnered more total support. There's a good chunk of Moldavians/moldovites/whatever giving the EU the middle finger.

    This country is going to have a rocky marriage with the EU.

    Remember the good ol' days when political parties were defined as left or right leaning?

    How long ago it was, now it's all about pro-russian, pro-european Rolling Eyes
    Zivo
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    Post  Zivo Tue Dec 02, 2014 5:13 am

    etaepsilonk wrote:
    Zivo wrote:While the party that gained the most support is pro Russian, the coalition of pro-EU parties garnered more total support. There's a good chunk of Moldavians/moldovites/whatever giving the EU the middle finger.

    This country is going to have a rocky marriage with the EU.

    Remember the good ol' days when political parties were defined as left or right leaning?

    How long ago it was, now it's all about pro-russian, pro-european  Rolling Eyes

    Welcome to the era of globalization.
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    Post  etaepsilonk Tue Dec 02, 2014 10:14 am

    Zivo wrote:
    etaepsilonk wrote:
    Zivo wrote:While the party that gained the most support is pro Russian, the coalition of pro-EU parties garnered more total support. There's a good chunk of Moldavians/moldovites/whatever giving the EU the middle finger.

    This country is going to have a rocky marriage with the EU.

    Remember the good ol' days when political parties were defined as left or right leaning?

    How long ago it was, now it's all about pro-russian, pro-european  Rolling Eyes

    Welcome to the era of globalization.

    Laughing Laughing Laughing

    "Why do you keep pestering me about those money bags I received from abroad? I only took them because, hey, globalization".
    d_taddei2
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    Moldova and Transnistria Situation Thread - Page 3 Empty reply

    Post  d_taddei2 Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:17 pm

    hi all, ive been to Transnistria (sept/oct 2013, pictures taken) i was there for independence day. I can clearly say its in better shape than the rest of Moldova, but you also have gagauzia which is another autonomous region of Moldova which is Russian leaning. In Transnistria the Russians have many weapons secretly stored here, speaking to locals they think its been done for two reasons, one the weapons could be sent back to Russia for partisans if Russia was ever invaded, and second to sell on the black market, and transported via Odessa Ukraine.

    I think the only reason Russia would only annex Transnistria and Gagauzia would be if i already had annexed the following Ukrainian regions: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odessa, which is unlikely to happen, as this would stretch right across southern Ukraine from Russia to Moldova, i suppose if only Odessa was annexed then Transnistria and Gagauzia would probably be annexed aswell, but really only to piss the west off and because they can. I think Russia with its current economic crisis won't be interested in annexing anyone. Ukraine situation is more likely to see a split in the country than annexation by Russia, if this was to happen and the above mention regions joined together then you may also find Transnistria and Gagauzia joining them also. This destroy the rest of Ukraine (especially economy-wise) and they would lose access to the sea, so this new country could actually have quite a bit going for it, access to Russia, Europe, and the sea. You also find other regions like Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kirovohrad (or parts of these regions) join the newly formed southern split.
    George1
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    Post  George1 Sun Mar 01, 2015 12:19 pm

    Moldova's breakaway region requests for Russia, Ukrainian aid amid economic crisis
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    Post  Khepesh Sat Apr 25, 2015 2:22 pm

    Transnistria = temporary base of the armed forces of Odessa People's Republic, well....
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    Moldova and Transnistria Situation Thread - Page 3 Empty Moldova's maidan in the making

    Post  whir Sun May 03, 2015 8:26 pm

    Novorosinform via Google Translate wrote:Кишиневе проходит митинг против лидеров прозападной коалиции
    Chisinau hosts meeting against the leaders of the pro-Western coalition
    Today at 17:00

    Chisinau hosts meeting against the leaders of the pro-Western coalition
    More than 10 thousand people on Sunday blocked the movement of vehicles on the main avenue of the capital of Moldova. The protesters demanded the resignation of the leaders of the ruling pro-European coalition, who are accused of corruption.

    In the morning, demonstrators marched along the main avenue in Chisinau, after which the central square of the meeting began. "Thieves in the government - in jail!", "Down with corrupt officials!" - The protesters chant.

    The action was initiated Civic Platform movement "Dignity and Justice", whose leaders demand immediate investigation of high-profile corruption scandals, including the theft of more than $ 1 billion of the three banks. The rally takes place peacefully, the police action does not preclude the demonstrators.

    Speakers at the rally leaders of the movement have called for the resignation of Attorney General, Director of the National Centre for the Fight against Corruption, Director of the Customs Service, the heads of the Supreme Court of Justice, Court of Appeal of Chisinau and the Council for the Protection of Competition, which is suspected of corruption.

    "Without the resignation of data structures and real reform society does not know who is guilty of stealing money from the banks," - said co-chair of the Civic Platform Angela Arama. "If they do not go away, the next protest action, we set up tents around the parliament and the prosecutor's office", - promised another activist, writer and presenter Konstantin Cheianu.
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    Post  Karl Haushofer Sun May 03, 2015 11:20 pm

    Maidan is not possible because the West is not supporting the protesters (because they are pro-Russian) and because Russia is either incapable or unwilling to create revolutions in its near abroad.
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    Post  whir Sun May 03, 2015 11:53 pm

    Karl Haushofer wrote:Maidan is not possible because the West is not supporting the protesters (because they are pro-Russian) and because Russia is either incapable or unwilling to create revolutions in its near abroad.
    If protests remain peaceful and are able to keep the tempo with corruption scandals potentially it could turn ugly very fast, even without external input, if politicians push things too hard.

    Russia is not in revolution business lately but that doesn't mean it can't maneuver politically if there's the opportunity, and looking at Russia's involvement in Gagauzia playing opportunistic politics is not that far fetched if they can get something out of it.
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    Post  Mr.Comrade Mon May 04, 2015 7:27 am

    Fox news blaming Pro - Russian members of corruption, claiming people are protesting against the communist party. More disinformation from the West

    Thousands in Moldova protest for reforms, investigation into $1.5 billion missing from banks

    Published May 03, 2015

    Associated Press

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    CHISINAU, Moldova –  Thousands have protested against Moldova's government, saying it has failed to implement reforms to bring the country closer to the European Union.

    Protesters also called on the government to investigate the disappearance of $1.5 billion from the state-owned Savings Bank, and the private banks Unibank and the Social Bank, in November 2014 before elections.

    . Thousands of people demonstrated in Chisinau on Sunday, waving Moldovan and EU flags yelling "Down with the thieves!" and "We want the billions back!" There were no reports of violence.

    Moldovan officials have recently launched an investigation into the disappearance of the money. Moldova's currency has lost 20 percent value this year.

    The current government is backed by communists, who favor a slower approach to reforms. Moldova signed an association agreement with the EU last year.
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    Post  par far Mon May 04, 2015 5:05 pm

    Mr.Comrade wrote:Fox news blaming Pro - Russian members of corruption, claiming people are protesting against the communist party. More disinformation from the West

    Thousands in Moldova protest for reforms, investigation into $1.5 billion missing from banks

    Published May 03, 2015

    Associated Press

    Facebook Twitter Email

    CHISINAU, Moldova –  Thousands have protested against Moldova's government, saying it has failed to implement reforms to bring the country closer to the European Union.

    Protesters also called on the government to investigate the disappearance of $1.5 billion from the state-owned Savings Bank, and the private banks Unibank and the Social Bank, in November 2014 before elections.

    . Thousands of people demonstrated in Chisinau on Sunday, waving Moldovan and EU flags yelling "Down with the thieves!" and "We want the billions back!" There were no reports of violence.

    Moldovan officials have recently launched an investigation into the disappearance of the money. Moldova's currency has lost 20 percent value this year.

    The current government is backed by communists, who favor a slower approach to reforms. Moldova signed an association agreement with the EU last year.

    The US trying to start another problem in Moldova, hopefully people of Moldova look at Ukraine and think twice.
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    Post  KoTeMoRe Tue May 05, 2015 1:22 am

    Karl Haushofer wrote:Maidan is not possible because the West is not supporting the protesters (because they are pro-Russian) and because Russia is either incapable or unwilling to create revolutions in its near abroad.

    Georgia ended up OK with gentle Russian soft power and got rid of Sukashvili.
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    Post  NationalRus Wed May 06, 2015 12:38 am

    searched in russian and i cant find anything going on in moldova and chisinau
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    Post  whir Wed May 06, 2015 12:59 am

    NationalRus wrote:searched in russian and i cant find anything going on in moldova and chisinau
    Just a quick Google search from today:

    DW wrote:Spring again in the Republic of Moldova – mass protest against corruption
    04.05.2015

    In Chisinau, tens of thousands of people demonstrated against corruption and demanded a comprehensive investigation of the latest bank scandal, in which approximately a billion euros have "disappeared."

    Moldovans call it the "robbery of the century." According to statements by the Central Bank, three Moldovan financial institutes allegedly granted loans for a total of some 900 million euros ($950 million) just before the parliamentary elections in November 2014.

    According to media sources, most of the money supposedly disappeared in Russian banks. The national anti-corruption authorities are now investigating. They have the help of a US consultancy firm whose report, known as the "Kroll Report", is being kept under wraps by the Moldovan government. In the meantime, the three Moldovan banks have been placed under state supervision.

    Over 40,000 people from all over Moldova came to the capital Chisinau on Sunday to demonstrate for the return of the money and a comprehensive investigation of the theft of the century. They demanded the immediate publication of the Kroll Report and the resignation of the Attorney General as well as the head of the national anti-corruption authorities.
    Continue Reading

    TASS wrote:March against corruption in Moldovan government held in Chisinau[/16]

    [size=8]World  April 05, 22:30 UTC+3


    The protested adopted a declaration demanding punishment to those responsible for the impoverishment of the people, for inefficient reforms and discrediting the idea of European integration

    CHISINAU, April 5. /TASS/. More than 1,000 people took part in an anti-governmental march in the Moldovan capital city of Chisinau protesting against corruption.

    The protested adopted a declaration demanding punishment to those responsible for the impoverishment of the people, for inefficient reforms and discrediting the idea of European integration.

    The march was organized by the public organization Dignity and Justice Civil Platform, which stands for Moldova’s integration in Europe and against corruption in Moldovan government. Continue reading.
    NationalRus
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    Post  NationalRus Wed May 06, 2015 1:18 am

    well i just searched youtube, and nothing is on youtube yet and well 1.000 people its nothing yet, we shall see what happens
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    Post  sepheronx Wed May 06, 2015 1:44 am

    If they think there wont be corruption in EU, all they have to do is turn to Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary and get a good picture as to how it really is going.
    Neutrality
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    Post  Neutrality Wed May 06, 2015 2:00 am

    NationalRus wrote:well i just searched youtube, and nothing is on youtube yet and well 1.000 people its nothing yet, we shall see what happens

    Same here. Nothing in the mainstream media at all.
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    Post  AlfaT8 Wed May 06, 2015 3:26 am

    sepheronx wrote:If they think there wont be corruption in EU, all they have to do is turn to Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary and get a good picture as to how it really is going.

    I though the same thing the part about "anti-corruption and stands for EU integration" sound like an oxymoron, all in all this organization seems fishy, this may as well be the early phase of a new maidan in Moldova, which makes me wonder what is the current leaderships stand is on Ukraine and there relations with Russia.
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    Post  sepheronx Wed May 06, 2015 3:32 am

    AlfaT8 wrote:
    sepheronx wrote:If they think there wont be corruption in EU, all they have to do is turn to Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary and get a good picture as to how it really is going.

    I though the same thing the part about "anti-corruption and stands for EU integration" sound like an oxymoron, all in all it sounds like this organization seems fishy, this may as well be the early phase of a new maidan in Moldova, which makes me wonder what is the current leaderships stand is on Ukraine and there relations with Russia.

    It is like the recent march on May 1 in St.Petersburg. People parading in the street with Rainbow Flags, US flags, Israeli Flags, Ukrainian Flags and Russian flags and all that jazz. My counter argument is that: Those rainbow flags would not be flying in Kiev and that flying the Ukrainian flag is opening yourself up to hatred since you are supporting a nation who is indiscriminately killing civilians because they are "Russians" (these own people), and the killings of journalists and opposition members. Pretty much, they are condoning the killing of their own people, and they are in the same group as the LGBT (and go figure, US and Israeli flags, again I mention). If anyone had even a shred of respect for themselves, they would not be holding the Ukrainian flag right now, especially if they are Russian. Add to that, joining them up with the LGBT rainbow flag, US flag and Israeli flag just add insult to injury.

    But like in both these cases, the protests are small, very small. St.Petersburg one couldn't even have been 1000 people as it never made news, and I watched the start of the crowed and end of the crowed, very very small, last like a couple of mins. This is no different - Mind you, the population of Moldova is smaller than St.Petersburg, so the 1000 in Moldova would be significantly larger than a 1000 in St.Pete.

    Most of the people who protests are considered "professionals" and "hired". This also goes for protestors here in Canada as well, since most normal people don't have the time or patience to go parading around and protesting, especially if they got family and work.
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    Post  Werewolf Wed May 06, 2015 4:39 am

    What i find interesting is that whenever you see some kind of demonstrations orchastrated from the west you absolutley always see gay flag and israeli flag...
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    Post  max steel Wed May 06, 2015 1:12 pm

    Moldova is hanging by a thread

    As long as Moldova kept a pro-EU outlook, Brussels turned a blind eye to many of Chisinau’s misdeeds. But that romance is over now.


    Ukraine’s borders meet those of Moldova and Romania in the village of Mamaliga, which shares its name with a type of porridge native to these borderlands. The crossing into Moldova is quiet. After passport control, a Ukrainian guard directs our bus to the Moldovan side. “Glory to Ukraine!” he shouts across the border. “Glory to the heroes!” his Moldovan counterpart roars back in Russian in what has become a customary exchange in post-Maidan Ukraine.

    It takes all night for our bus to reach the capital, Chisinau. Before long, it becomes apparent that the Moldovan guard’s political views are not shared by all of his countrymen. Though EU flags rise high above the Moldovan parliament, Chisinau is also covered in posters of Irina Vlah, a young woman who recently became governor of the country’s southern Gagauzia region, smiling and shaking hands with a Russian Duma member.

    Support for the EU in Moldova is at its lowest in ten years – and Russian propaganda is not solely to blame.

    When Angela Merkel visited Chisinau in 2012, Moldova was hailed as the “success story” of the EU’s Eastern Partnership, an initiative aimed to encourage reform and expand trade links with six former Soviet countries. But the bar for that accolade was low: aside from Georgia under Mikheil Saakashvili, the Partnership countries were not interested in reform. Ukraine was going rogue under Viktor Yanukovich, Ilham Aliyev’s Azerbaijan was too oil-rich to care, Armenia was firmly in Moscow’s grip, and Belarus’ Aleksandr Lukashenko continued to be dubbed “Europe’s last dictator.” Given those geopolitics, it was relatively easy for Brussels to support the small, poverty-stricken country of Moldova.

    But it soon became increasingly clear that a corrupt Moldovan elite was exploiting EU support. Funds with “no strings attached” created a sense of impunity for Chisinau politicians. The government displayed no real intentions of fostering a business friendly environment, and confiscations of profitable businesses remained common.

    Moldova’s ongoing corruption problem recently erupted in a massive banking scandal. $1 billion (almost one eighth of Moldova’s GDP) from three of the country’s state-owned banks disappeared overnight. It remains unclear what happened to the missing millions, but the transactions took place just days before the November 2014 elections, on the watch of Moldova’s pro-EU government.

    “When we voted in our first pro-EU leaders in 2009, we expected a real fight with corruption,” says Iurie Morcotylo, a Chisinau-based analyst. Six years on, there is a lingering feeling that pro-EU parties have let the country down.

    “Authorities have failed to explain the benefits of EU integration to the people,” says Chiril Luncischi, a politician from Moldova’s Liberal Democratic Party. The challenge for Moldova’s pro-EU faction – forced to form a minority coalition government under Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici following the November 2014 elections – is to win back society’s trust. “It is absolutely necessary to return to forming a parliamentary majority after the local elections in June,” says Luncischi.

    As long as Moldova kept a pro-EU outlook, Brussels turned a blind eye to many of Chisinau’s misdeeds. But that romance is over now.

    As a result, the EU’s public image has been badly tarnished. “Moldovans increasingly associate the EU with corruption,” says Alexandru Fala, an economist at Chisinau’s Expert Group think tank. Many who until recently supported a European path are now looking to pro-Kremlin parties for leadership. Just five years ago, 75 percent of Moldovans favored deepening ties with Brussels. Today, a profound split has emerged in Moldovan society, which is irreconcilably divided between a future with the EU and a future with Russia.

    Uniting Moldovans is a daunting task. Poverty has forced many to become seasonal migrants.; almost a quarter of Moldova’s 3 and a half million people are employed abroad. Moldovans find work in South West Europe (predominantly in Italy, but also in Spain and Portugal) or in Russia (mainly Moscow). Witnessing southern Europe’s economic crisis has dampened migrants’ enthusiasm for the EU, who make their disappointment known back home. Those returning from Moscow are highly exposed to Kremlin propaganda and tend to support pro-Russia parties. Often called “the village of Europe,” Moldova is the continent’s only country with a larger rural than urban population, where a devoutly Christian approach to life and politics prevails.

    The ruling pro-European parties openly portray themselves as the lesser evil. “They tell us: ‘Perhaps we are bad, but if you vote for the pro-Russia parties you will have a Donbas in Moldova,’” Igor Batan, an influential Moldovan political commentator, told me.

    The Socialist Party – which advocates joining Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union – is now the single largest party in the Moldovan parliament. Its leader, Igor Dodon, vows to “end this European experiment” in Moldova if he wins a majority in the next election. Moscow has accordingly shifted the bulk of its support from the more moderate Communist Party (which Dodon describes as “insufficiently anti-Western”) to the Socialists. Prior to the election, high-profile Kremlin officials including Sergey Mironov, former speaker of the Russian Senate, attended the party’s congress in Chisinau.

    Russia makes Moldova pay for every inch the country edges westwards. Ahead of an EU summit that Moldova attended in 2013, Russia banned imports of Moldovan wine. When Chisinau signed a landmark agreement with the EU in July 2014, Russia responded by banning Moldovan fruit. Moscow’s embargos on Moldovan goods lock the country out of both Russian and EU markets, because its products cannot compete with the quality of European goods. Entirely dependent on Russian energy, Moldova can do little to resist Moscow’s grip.

    It doesn’t help that since the annexation of Crimea, the Kremlin has ramped up its influence on former Soviet states. With a shaky ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Moldovans fear a full scale Russian offensive, in which Russian troops could reach their borders. “Moldova survives thanks to Ukrainian resistance,” says Batan.

    Moldova, like Georgia on the opposite side of the Black Sea, is experiencing déjà-vu in Ukraine. Today’s battle in Eastern Ukraine echoes the Transnistrian conflict that eventually froze in 1992; Moldova has lived with a breakaway Russian-backed republic within its borders for 23 years. A generation has come of age since Tiraspol declared its secession from Chisinau, and Moldovans have learned to live in a divided country. Many drivers in the Moldovan capital have Transnistrian plates, which help them avoid paying fines.

    Georgi moved to Chisinau from Rybnica, a city in the North of Transnistria, six years ago. Now in his mid-thirties, Georgi graduated from a Moscow university and owns a chain of beauty salons in the capital. Every other weekend he drives for two hours to visit his parents – ethnic Romanians – in the breakaway territory. “Life has become much harder there over the last year,” he says.

    The war in Ukraine has put Transnistria under increasing strain over the past few months. Wary of Russian troops in the republic and their proximity to Odessa, Kiev has blocked its border with Transnistria. Most of Tiraspol’s trade is with Ukraine and the EU (via Chisinau), but the Kremlin is calling for authorities to transfer their exports to Moscow.

    Russian state television recently aired a news report portraying Tiraspol as a blossoming cosmopolitan capital. In reality, the collapse of the Russian ruble has sent shock waves to Transnistria. The flow of financial support from Moscow has slowed and families of the many migrants working in Russia have seen their purchasing power decline drastically. Transnistria’s internationally unrecognized President, Yevgeny Shevchuk, is believed to be in conflict with the Kremlin. Georgi’s parents worry this means there will be even less public money available.

    Having lost Transnistria, Chisinau is now struggling to cope with more Russian-supported separatism as Moscow plays the “Gagauz card.” Gagauzia – a semi-autonomous region populated by ethnic Turk Christians – voted in Irina Vlah as its governor in March. Her victory was a boost to all of Moldova’s politicians opposed to European integration in an increasingly divided country where reform is being slowly abandoned.

    “If the pro-Russia parties win here,” Batan fears, “the EU will lose interest in us forever.”

    http://www.politico.eu/article/moldova-is-hanging-by-a-thread/

    _____________________________________________________

    I like how the author claims it’s Russian propaganda that causes Moldovans in Russia to vote for pro-Russian parties.

    Maybe it’s because the EU has failed? Maybe it’s because the EU has destroyed the prosperity of an entire generation? Maybe it’s the high unemployment rate, declining real wages, austerity (even though everyone still runs a budget deficit) and trying to plug the holes with debt that make the EU undesirable.

    The EU is a failure.
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    par far


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    Post  par far Wed May 06, 2015 3:22 pm

    Hopefully Russia is keeping an eye on this. Are they?
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    Post  max steel Wed May 06, 2015 4:48 pm

    nope they don't . Moldova isn't Russia's headache .



    A HUGE amount of EU money went into PR to join up with the EU in Moldova. For example, FRI reported that Radio stations in Moldova were paid 60K per annum if they would run pro-homosexual editorial content for the EU. If they'll spend that much on social engineering, they'll be spending money across the board to buy the media, entrepreneurs, govt official etc. Exactly like the Ukraine.

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