Moldova’s Parliament has approved a 60-day extension of the state of emergency in the country, first because of security concerns related to the war in Ukraine, and later because of the threat the conflict poses to the country’s energy stability.
The current state of emergency expired next Wednesday, December 6, but with this new extension, the Moldovan Parliament has extended the emergency measure until the first week of February.
«In the current situation, there is still a need for levers and tools to make quick and efficient decisions,» said the Moldovan Prime Minister, Natalia Gavrilita, during the session in Parliament.
According to Gavrilita, who asked Parliament to extend the emergency measure, Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have also caused widespread blackouts in the Moldovan power grid.
Similarly, Russian missiles crossing Moldovan airspace also pose a threat not only to the safety of Moldovan civil aviation, but also to that of the entire Moldovan public, according to Moldpres news agency.
«Day by day, we have to find solutions to have light and gas», Gavrilita defended, recalling that without the state of emergency, it would not have been possible to help the companies, the gas storages would not have been available and it would not have been possible to buy electricity from Romania.
By virtue of the state of emergency, the Commission for Exceptional Situations is empowered to issue binding orders to the heads of public administrations at national and local level, as well as to the citizens themselves.
The state of emergency has been in force in the country since February 24, more than nine months ago, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the outbreak of war in Ukraine, a nation bordering Moldova.
