Today, a meeting of political representatives from Pridnestrovie and the Republic of Moldova was held at the office of the OSCE Mission in Chisinau specifically to address the problem of importing medications. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Pridnestrovian Pharmacists Association, the Health Ministry and a number of Pridnestrovian companies importing pharmaceutical products, as well as mediators and observers in the negotiation process.
During the discussion, the Pridnestrovian side stressed the bureaucratic and excessive nature of the procedures applied by the relevant Moldovan authorities when importing medications into Pridnestrovie in transit through checkpoints on the Romanian-Moldovan border. A result of the abovementioned non-constructive approach is that two lorries with one of the Pridnestrovian companies’ medications have been kept at the customs terminal in Bulboci for more than a week already. Other companies have decided to suspend most of the purchase and shipment of medications due to the refusal of the relevant Moldovan agency to provide import authorizations, without which the customs authorities of the Republic of Moldova prohibit the importation of goods into Pridnestrovie. A critical situation has developed with tenders for public procurement of medications, including oncological, diabetic, psychotropic, anti-tuberculosis, etc.
The Pridnestrovian side insisted on the need to promptly identify fundamental temporary solutions, the implementation of which would help retain the Pridnestrovian population's access to the traditional list of medicines, including those not registered by the regulatory authorities of the Republic of Moldova. Meanwhile, the Moldovan side resorts to administrative barriers, even when a part of medicines is registered in the Republic of Moldova, under the pretext of price, available analogues on the market, or by late authorization. As a result, all 20 applications submitted to and processed by Moldova's relevant agency in the second half of March were rejected.
In these conditions, Pridnestrovie has officially proposed that the passage of medicines be temporarily allowed in the mode that existed earlier at the Kuchurgan-Pervomaisk checkpoint before it was closed this February.
At this stage, despite their previous assurances, the Moldovan representatives haven't shown a full understanding of the current tough situation and willingness for early decisions on special mechanisms for Pridnestrovian importers.
The dialogue is to continue soon at the level of field specialists, with the participation of mediators and observers.
