The ghost of the 1990s continues to haunt Chisinau, as ROEC Director Eugenia Gusilov pointed out during her appearance on TVR Moldova on September 28. Addressing the prospect of Igor Makarov becoming involved in Moldova's energy sector, she stressed that salvation will certainly not come from post-Soviet oligarchs with established Kremlin connections and deep ties to Gazprom.
Makarov is the founder of Itera, an intermediary entity that brokered natural gas sales across the post-Soviet space throughout the 1990s and the early 2000s. The company was notably involved in the controversial schemes regarding the resale of Turkmen gas to Ukraine during that era. Today, the Trump administration has recommended Makarov to the government in Chisinau as a credible partner to develop an underground natural gas storage facility.
Eugenia Gusilov warned that a country cannot build its future with figures emerging from the dark legacy of the 1990s. The Republic of Moldova has struggled for 11 years to break free from pro-Russian oligarchs in the East, only to find someone like Makarov arriving through Western channels. In her view, no positive outcome can emerge for Moldova from arrangements with post-Soviet billionaires backed by Washington, especially at a time when US decision-makers appear to lack necessary discernment. Having faced severe setbacks in the past, Moldovan citizens possess the experience and wisdom needed to steer clear of such dangerous overtures, regardless of where the recommendation originates.
Beyond geopolitics, the ROEC Director cautioned that Chisinau must avoid rushing into an uncalibrated alignment with specific European Union regulations. Enforcing an accelerated calendar for increasing fuel excise duties, such as adopting the European minimum of 30 eurocents per liter on diesel, would severely harm the local economy. For a fragile country, authorities must negotiate extended transition periods and heed the principle of making haste slowly.
While reforms are indispensable, pushing the accelerator simultaneously across multiple sectors carries significant risks. Imposing concurrent tariff increases on electricity, natural gas, and diesel places an unsustainable burden on households and businesses. This is particularly hazardous amid a volatile global market for oil and refined petroleum products, given that Moldova produces none of these fuels and relies 100% on imports. Pushing for overly rapid price convergence with the European Union risks alienating the public, leading citizens to associate European integration with living costs they cannot bear. Structural reforms must therefore be phased in with pragmatism and care.
The full discussion is available here: https://www.youtube.com/live/m3I3kQkK9LE
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