Workshop on "Land Monitoring in the Republic of Moldova" organised with the EU support

On 1-2 February, the Land Relations and Cadastre Agency (ALRC) in collaboration with the Institute of Geodesy, Technical Surveys and Cadastre (INGEOCAD) has hosted the workshop with the generic title "Land Monitoring in the Republic of Moldova". The workshop was organised by the Austrian Development Agency and the Bureau of Technical Cooperation Coordination, Austrian Embassy in Chișinău within the EU4Environment – Water Resources and Environmental Data program, financed by the European Union.

Participants focused on the following issues: national implementation of the Corine Land Cover (CLC) pilot project, joint assessment of available global and national land monitoring data as well as preparation and decision on the use of High-Resolution Land Cover (HRVPP) data for national assessments in a pilot area. During 2017-2020, the Agency for Land Relations and Cadastre, in collaboration with INGEOCAD, conducted the Pilot Corine Land Cover project in the Republic of Moldova as part of the ENI SEIS II Est program. The project was implemented in accordance with the European standards, methodology and nomenclature and technical specifications provided by the European Environment Agency. At the same time, the ARFC team, INGEOCAD and the collaborators of other public entities benefited from training for the use of satellite images. The Project used satellite images (Sentinel-2, Landsat-5), provided by the European Environment Agency, orthophoto images 2016 and auxiliary data. All data are public for users and can be tracked on the ARFC thematic portal www.geodata.gov.md pilot project, its expansion was requested, to cover the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova and integration into the European space. Thus, during 2023-2024, the national team of experts from the INGEOCAD, in collaboration with European experts, will coverage of the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The results of the Project will also allow direct links with related initiatives and programs at European level, including the Copernicus programme.

EUBAM contributes to the health and safety of Moldovan consumers

On 27 January European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) facilitated the signing of the Cooperation Action Plan between the Moldovan Customs Service and the State Inspectorate for the Surveillance of NonFood Products and Consumer Protection. It will enhance partnerships and ensure the safety of products entering the market of the Republic of Moldova.

To ensure that unsafe or non-compliant products are not placed on the market, EUBAM brought together the customs and consumer protection authorities and facilitated several consultations to establish cooperation mechanisms in safety and compliance control. The Cooperation Action Plan was born and signed as a joint initiative to help follow best European practices and protect the Moldovan people.

During the event, the Acting Director of the Customs Service, Nicolae Vutcariov, mentioned that

“market surveillance plays an important role in protecting consumers from using counterfeit products and goods, which may inflict harm to the health and safety of the users, therefore, the customs authority, with the support and assistance of the development partners and in cooperation with the State Inspectorate for the Surveillance of Non-Food Products and Consumer Protection, shall continue the awareness raising and information campaigns designated for importers in relation to their responsibility towards consumers and to protecting their legitimate rights and interests. Only with joint efforts we will manage to obtain results in this important area for the whole society.”

“We hope for effective cooperation and collaboration with the customs service because we want a market with safe products for all consumers in the Republic of Moldova. Based on notifications from the customs service, we will ensure the presence of inspectors at the place of customs clearance to be able to identify dangerous and counterfeit products and prohibit them from entering our country,” highlighted Sergiu Dărănuță, Head of the State Inspectorate for the Supervision of Non-Food Products and Consumer Protection.

“Products imported and placed on the Moldovan market must be checked to be safe and compliant before being released for free circulation. This Action Plan ensures that the citizens of Moldova as consumers will feel safer, and it will bring the country one step closer to the EU standards with regards to health and safety of consumers,” emphasised Slawomir Pichor, the Head of EUBAM, about the importance of the plan.

The Moldovan Customs Service and the State Inspectorate for the Surveillance of NonFood Products and Consumer Protection also signed the Order that will establish cooperation procedures and ensure smooth implementation of the Cooperation Action Plan.