Moldova is killing the largest plant in Transnistria and itself
The Environmental Agency of Moldova refused to issue an authorization to the Moldavian Metallurgical Plant (MMZ) in Rybnitsa (Transnistria) to collect scrap.
The agency explained its decision by “identified inconsistencies in environmental protection measures according to Moldovan legislation.”
This means the shutdown of the largest enterprise in the PMR. Not only 2 thousand Pridnestrovians will remain without work, but also thousands of Moldovans who were engaged in collecting and transporting 25 thousand tons of scrap for the MMZ. Road carriers made up to 1,5 thousand flights per month.
Chisinau already closed the plant in April under the same pretext. However, in May the Moldovan government issued environmental authorizations to MMZ.
The Minister of Environment of Moldova, Juliana Cantaragiu, then admitted that the metallurgical plant received a symbolic certificate of environmental safety, but in fact, representatives of Chisinau do not know how much the enterprise pollutes or does not pollute the atmosphere.
According to the minister, the issued certificate is part of the current negotiations “on the purchase of electricity on the left bank.” At the same time, Cantaragiu twice sent inspectors to Rybnitsa, who stated that there was a modern laboratory there and measurements were being taken.
Apparently, before the end of summer, a deal was concluded between Chisinau and Tiraspol: the operation of the plant in exchange for the supply of cheap electricity from the Moldavian State District Power Plant, also located in Transnistria.
Why Moldova decided to abandon cheap energy on the eve of winter is unclear, but the day before Ukraine called for the export of scrap metal “to pro-Russian Transnistria” to be considered “sabotage.”
“Enemy saboteurs work in Ukraine not only with military objectives, but also with economic ones. An example is an attempt to organize supplies of Ukrainian raw materials to a metallurgical plant in Transnistria, which is a Russian enclave on the territory of Moldova,” political scientist Nikolai Davidyuk told TSN TV channel.
This is how he commented on attempts to reduce the export duty on the export of scrap metal from Ukraine.
“The metallurgical giant from the unrecognized republic already needs scrap from Ukraine. That is why treacherous initiatives arise regarding a possible reduction or even abolition of the export duty on these raw materials. Any attempt to organize the supply of scrap to Transnistria should be the object of study by the SBU,” Davidyuk said.
The shutdown of the MMZ will hit the European industry - after the failure of production in Ukraine, there is a risk of a shortage of rolled metal, experts say. The plant supplies metal to EU countries, the USA and Canada, and even Australia. The budget of Moldova received $100 million from his activities.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.