LIVE TEXT // Moldovan PM-designate in parliament says fully intend to carry mandate through up to next parliamentary elections

The parliament convened at a plenary meeting, in order to examine the Government’s Activity Programme and to grant the vote of confidence to the new cabinet of ministers, including its composition. The mandate of the new government will be focused on the direction, “Moldova – a European, safe and prosperous country, in which private initiative creates growth, while an efficient and competent state delivers quality public services that improve people’s lives.” 

Update 12:37 – Alexandru Verșinin, MP of the “Democrația Acasă” Parliamentary Faction: “Why should citizens believe that the same team, the same lineup, the same Minister of Foreign Affairs will manage to attract more investments, increase exports and, in the end, ensure citizens’ well-being?” 

Vasile Tofan: “I rather see my role as that of a coach. And, to answer your question, if you allow me to use this metaphor, a good coach can, with the same players, build a better team. There have been examples in the history of football, as well as in management, when changing the way of working, the discipline and the objectives led to much better results.” 

Update 12:25 – Vlad Batrancea, MP of the Party of Socialists (PSRM) and Deputy Speaker of Parliament: “Will you respect the laws of this country and report to Parliament? Or, like Mr. Munteanu, will you end up in a situation where something no longer corresponds to the values you share and you will decide to resign? Will you come to explain to Parliament the reasons for your departure?” 

Vasile Tofan: “I fully intend to carry this mandate through to the end, that is, until September 2029, at the next parliamentary elections. Therefore, I hope there will be no need for an ad-hoc presentation upon departure, since I do not intend to leave this office before the end of the mandate. If a mandate report will be welcomed after the remaining time, that is more than three years, I will have the honor to present it. More important than ticking off such a report is to have real results to present and to be proud of, together with our team.” 

Update 12:13 – Nicolae Margarint, MP of Our Party: “You spoke about fair and equitable remuneration, but lately we have seen more and more cases of outrageous salaries and illegal hirings. I am referring here to the cases at MoldATSA and the Ministry of Culture. Are you satisfied with a resignation and the return of part of that undeserved money, or will you get involved so that every person who broke the law is held accountable? Or will we be left only with some public apologies and resignations?” 

Vasile Tofan: “I share your indignation and people’s indignation regarding outrageous salaries. The cases reported in the media also seem like an abuse to me. I do not tolerate such cases and I believe in meritocracy. Indeed, there are rare skills in IT and in cybersecurity, fields in which specialists are hard to find. There, the state must hire and pay people at the proper level, otherwise we will not be able to attract these professionals. Many of the publicized cases were of a different nature: they were abuses, cases of shamelessness. I assume the responsibility to come forward with regulatory provisions to prevent such situations, and where a violation of the law is found, justice must do its work and have full freedom to deliver justice in these cases.” 

Update 12:07 – Marina Morozova, PAS MP: “What will be the first actions to attract investment companies and offer those high salaries that citizens want?” 

Vasile Tofan: “Salaries are not dictated by the government; they represent the result of economic growth. My priority will be to spur the economy. The first thing we must do is to restore optimism for entrepreneurs who have invested in Moldova. The initial priority is local capital. We must also bring in new investors and carry out structural reforms.” 

Update 12:05 – Prime Minister-designate Vasile Tofan has concluded his speech and is answering MPs’ questions. 

Update 12:02 – The Prime Minister-designate, Vasile Tofan, called on MPs to support the government programme and to contribute to a debate based on concrete solutions, not just criticism. 

“Esteemed MPs, I am not asking you for a check-out, I am asking for your vote for a programme with a clear direction, measurable indicators and assumed deadlines. I will be open to good proposals, regardless of the faction they come from. A good solution for the country does not become less good because it was formulated by the opposition. But I also invite you to a more responsible debate than simply listing problems. 

It is not enough to say that the tax reform proposed by the government is wrong. Present your own tax reform, with rates, tax bases, costs, effects on investment and budget impact. It is not enough to criticize salaries in the public sector. 

Present your own vision of the remuneration law. Which positions should be paid better? Where are there privileges? What do we eliminate and how much does it cost? It is not enough to say that the local public administration reform is too slow or too fast. Present an applicable solution, from the situation we are in today, 21 July 2026, with the amalgamation process underway and with local elections next year. 

This would be a responsible position. This would be a state-level debate, not just a political fireworks show. I promise you that any such proposal, calculated, coherent, implementable, will be examined by the Government with the utmost seriousness, regardless of who submits it,” Tofan said. 

Update 11:56 – Prime Minister-designate, Vasile Tofan, said that he would ask ministers to focus less on explaining administrative processes and more on solving the concrete problems faced by citizens and the business community. He also stressed that state institutions will have to cooperate more efficiently, so that citizens do not bear the consequences of rivalries between ministries, agencies or their heads. 

“The citizen must not pay for rivalries between ministries, agencies or their heads. Consultation is necessary, but it will not be used as an excuse for delay. We will listen, we will calculate, we will decide and we will implement,” Vasile Tofan said. 

Prime Minister-designate asked MPs for a vote of confidence for the Government Program and the proposed government team:

• Cristina Gerasimov, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration; 

• Mihai Popsoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; 

• Eugeniu Osmochescu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization; 

• Vladimir Bolea, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development; 

• Valeriu Chiveri, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration; 

• Dan Perciun, Minister of Education and Research; 

• Radu Musteata, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry; 

• Daniella Misail-Nichitin, Minister of Internal Affairs; 

• Vladislav Cojuhari, Minister of Justice; 

• Victoria Belous, Minister of Finance; 

• Natalia Plugaru, Minister of Labour and Social Protection; 

• Alexandru Gasnas, Minister of Health; 

• Gheorghe Hajder, Minister of Environment; 

• Dan Suruceanu, Minister of Culture; 

• Dorin Junghietu, Minister of Energy; 

• Anatolie Nosatii, Minister of Defence; 

• Alexei Buzu, Secretary General of the Government. 

“This is the team with which we want to get down to work and with which we want to deliver results,” Tofan said. 

Update 11:38 – At least six billion lei will be invested over the next few years in modernizing educational and research infrastructure, and the average salary of teaching staff must reach at least 120 per cent of the average salary in the economy.

Vasile Tofan assured that from 2027 new curricula and textbooks will be introduced, including financial, digital, media and environmental competencies. Another objective is to attract at least 500 young people per year into schools and kindergartens. 

“The school network will be adapted according to one main criterion – the quality of the child’s education. There is no point in keeping a school formally where teachers for basic subjects are missing. But we will not reorganize an institution without safe transport, investments and an obviously better alternative for the child. The savings must remain in education. The average salary of teaching staff must reach at least 120% of the average salary in the economy.” 

Update 11:26 – The local public administration reform is difficult, but can no longer be avoided. Depopulation and ageing have reduced the capacity of many town halls to hire specialists, prepare projects and manage services. Under these conditions, the ongoing amalgamation process will be continued and improved where possible, and the desired outcome is that more money goes into local services and investment. 

“I have publicly supported a more ambitious option – 40 strong municipalities and the elimination of the district level. I know that some of you in this chamber, including in the opposition, share this vision. But we are on 21 July, ten days before an important deadline for amalgamation and with local elections next year. To overturn the entire process now and change the rules at the eleventh hour would be irresponsible. It would be madness. I did not take this office to prove that I am right at any cost. I came to get results and I must work with the reality we have. We will continue the ongoing amalgamation process, improve it where it is still possible, and thoroughly prepare the reform of the district level. The outcome we are aiming for is not a nicer organizational chart. The outcome is that more money goes into local services and investments, not into administrative structures that no longer correspond to reality,” Vasile Tofan concluded. 

Update 11:12 – The Prime Minister-designate, Vasile Tofan, is presenting the Government Program: “I have a plan for this country and I am determined to fight for a stronger economy, for a more efficient state and for a better life for people,” Tofan said from the Parliament rostrum. 

“Dear citizens, esteemed MPs, I am honored to be here today and to have this important debate. You are the people elected by citizens to represent not only their expectations, but also their concerns. Different people, with different needs, with different professions, people with different development visions have placed their trust in you to be their voice. Today’s discussion is important because each of you, elected by the people, brings here the voice of these people. 

Today I am presenting to you the Government Program and the team that will implement it. This program is not a strategy to be shelved or an academic paper with beautiful ideas, but starts from a simple question. Can we build the Republic of Moldova as a country where young people want to live, raise their children and invest? Or do we content ourselves with continuing to lose people and opportunities? 

The answer depends on us. The plan starts from an uncompromising diagnosis. The problems are serious and decisions can no longer be postponed. The action counter is not in years, it is in days and hours. Each day must become a deadline for finding and implementing solutions. 

Any delay has a real cost. Every day, another young person may decide to build a life elsewhere, in another country. And another investor may choose a different market. The time we lose costs us all our future. The problems are many and difficult, even overwhelming, but they can be overcome,” the Prime Minister-designate said. 

Vasile Tofan stressed that the new Government will take over its mandate in a context marked by numerous economic and social challenges, warning that recovery will require structural reforms and measures focused on economic growth. The Republic of Moldova is facing a budget deficit of about 20 billion lei, while public spending has almost doubled in the last five years, from 49 to 92 billion lei, without investments keeping pace. 

“The list of challenges is long. Crises have forced us to double the costs for social protection, and half of the increase in spending has gone to social purposes. The state had to help people by increasing pensions and compensating energy costs. But this has not generated economic growth. We have distributed what we collected, but we did not produce in addition,” Vasile Tofan said. 

At the same time, Vasile Tofan mentioned that, although in recent years the Republic of Moldova has obtained extended access to the European Union market, the supply of competitive export products remains insufficient. He added that economic tensions are also amplified by the political climate, which makes measures to stimulate investment and economic development even more necessary. 

Update 11:08 – The sitting of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova begins. The national anthem is played. The Speaker of Parliament, Igor Grosu, opens the sitting and gives the floor to the Prime Minister-designate, Vasile Tofan. 

Update 10:55 – “Together with the team of ministers, we are going to Parliament to present the Government Program and to ask MPs for a vote of confidence,” the Prime Minister-designate wrote on his Facebook page. 

The strategic priority of the new government will be to restart the economy through entrepreneurship development and investment, accelerated accession to the European Union, modernization and digitalization of the state, defending the democratic course and turning growth into jobs and better public services. “We are starting with a clear ambition: to bring back energy, initiative and optimism into the country’s development,” Tofan declared before going to parliament. 

The parliamentary opposition has announced that it will not support the investiture of the government led by the Prime Minister-designate Vasile Tofan. Although they appreciated the directions and objectives included in the Government Program, the leaders of the opposition factions criticized the composition of the new Cabinet of Ministers and expressed doubts about its capacity to implement the assumed measures. At the same time, opposition representatives said that the program contains ambitious objectives but questioned the feasibility and the mechanisms through which they will be achieved.