Уникальная структура действует при Молдавской Экономической академии (ASE). Я говорю о Национальной ассоциации молодых менеджеров (ANTIM) и проводимом ими конкурсе на лучший бизнес-план среди молодежи и студентов. В этом году конкурс проводился уже в пятый раз.


Конкурс значительно более комплексный, чем большинство тренингов, которые проходят на экономических факультетах в наших вузах. Многоступенчатая организация (если заявка признается интересной, соискателей обучают основам аналитического подхода к бизнес-планированию и правильному составлению бизнес-планов). В жюри собраны представители самых разнообразных отраслей молдавского бизнес-сообщества, причем в нынешнем году члены жюри имели возможность комментировать свои оценки, начиная с первого этапа до финала. Логичная подсказка или критика могут помочь чуть перестроить стратегию и аргументацию «на ходу». На финальном этапе – личная презентация проекта. Но, каким бы он замечательным ни был на бумаге, расплывчатые ответы на вопросы могут свести все преимущества «на нет». В конце победителей и финалистов ожидают не оценки, а денежные и прочие призы. И, новинка нынешнего года, финалисты могут участвовать в международном конкурсе бизнес-планов, который проводит организация JCI (Junior Chamber International). В этом году он пройдет в турецкой Анталии.

На V конкурс было подано свыше 300 заявок, однако реальные макеты смогли представить 254 кандидата. Среди них была проведена селекция (также впервые жюри работало в режиме online). Оставшимся 35 полуфиналистам предложили представить развернутые проекты, в финал из них вышло семь.

Поговорим сначала о тех, кто не прошел. Год за годом наблюдая за этим проектом, хочу отметить реальный рост качества заявок. Неплохая проработка темы, финансовое планирование, анализы SWOT и конкурентной среды позволяют говорить о том, что создается слой молодых людей, по крайней мере, понимающих, с какой стороны подходить к бизнесу. Понятно, что далеко не все участники могут этим похвастаться, даже у финалистов случались и случаются такие проколы, что приходится просто улыбаться и делать поправку на возраст. Например, в нынешнем году авторы вполне симпатичного проекта «Пофтошел» (офисный кэтеринг) записали в возможное число потенциальных клиентов 300 тысяч кишиневцев. То есть продавцам кухонных плит и холодильников можно сворачивать бизнес: всех накормит «Пофтошел». С двумя водителями в штате.

К неудачным (но достаточно грамотно проработанным идеям) можно отнести четыре почти одинаковых «оруэлловских» проекта по размещению в маршрутках TFT-мониторов и DVD-плееров, с помощью которых предлагалось развлекать пассажиров рекламными роликами. Естественно, все эти проекты в полуфинал не прошли, однако заставили задуматься: не из кругов ли близких к примэрии такие идеи исходят?

Отмечу несколько интересных, на мой взгляд, проектов, не дошедших до финала. Постараюсь не выйти при этом за пределы сохранности коммерческой тайны. С другой стороны, честно говоря, хочется, чтобы «фабрика по производству проектов», чем на сегодняшний день является конкурс бизнес-планов, потихоньку становилась бы биржей, на которой потенциальные инвесторы могли бы приобретать как перспективные идеи, так и менеджмент для них - два в одном. Начну с подборки, посвященной детям. Вроде бы, в духе времени: сеть дошкольных учреждений начинает выбираться из тяжелейшего кризиса, появляются редкие-редкие площадки для отдыха и развлечений, то есть рынок только начинает создаваться. Санду Балтяну предлагает проект спортивного комплекса «Маленький Геркулес». Проект предусматривает комплексное физическое и умственное развитие детей от 3 до 16 лет и инвестиции в $ 440 530 с трехлетним периодом окупаемости.

Если „Геркулес” направлен на массовых любителей тенниса, бейсбола и пр., то проект Александрины Голуб „Happy Kindergarten” - на VIPов по разумным ценам. Речь идет о садике, в котором детей можно оставлять хоть на несколько часов, хоть на ночь под присмотром профессиональных воспитателей и нянь. В стране ничего подобного пока нет. Правда, и финансовые расчеты заставляют задуматься: инвестиции – 6 млн леев, годовой доход – 23,7 млн.

Симбиоз вышеуказанных идей - Family Sport Center Серджиу Гросу, с несколькими спортзалами различных направлений, двумя бассейнами, включая „лягушатник”, кинозалом, кафе для детей и родителей и пр.

Виолетта Мога предлагает проект детского ресторана „Happy Meal” с внешним интерьеров в виде веселого бургера. Тоже достаточно уникальная идея, которую стоило бы повнимательнее обдумать, ведь именно детских учреждений у нас нет за исключением одного (в тех местах). Правда, там тоже кормят бургерами. Виолетта подсчитала инвестиции - $ 600 000. Идею Марины Мелентьевой, интернет-портал www.moldfashion.com вполне можно запускать хоть сегодня. Такой информационный источник будет объединять всю «модную» сферу Молдовы и обозревать ее. И после некоторых усилий по раскрутке вполне может стать доходным интернет-проектом. Минимальная себестоимость продукта составляет 16 020 леев. Это сумма составлена из оплаты услуг программиста, хостинга, домена, Интернет-обеспечения и регистрации фирмы.

Очень на мой взгляд любопытный проект предлагает Маргарита Сарсова: производство бумажных стаканчиков. Они более эстетичны, более гигиеничны и более экологичны, чем пластиковые стаканчики, на них может быть нанесена символика предприятия, любая рекламная информация или просто красочный рисунок. На закупку оборудования и начало производства необходима совсем не запредельная сумма в 25 тыс. долларов.

К забавным можно отнести проект создания службы велотакси в Вадул луй Водэ. То есть вернуться к китайским рикшам, а уже оттуда, разогнавшись, осваивать IT-индустрию. В финал вышли, как уже упоминалось, семь проектов. Проект Анжелы Гертан предполагает производство одежды для беременных женщин с невысоким уровнем доходов. Инвестиции – 27 тыс. леев. Самое, наверное, большое оживление вызвал проект Думитру Лунгу по производству DVD-дисков из полилактовой кислоты, выделенной из кукурузы. Это технология, разработанная японской компанией Sanyo, противостоит она ныне распространенной технологии изготовления дисков из поликарбоната. Продукт получается экологически дружественный и полностью разлагается в течение 50-100 лет. Инвестиции – 2 млн евро, годовой объем продаж – 3,6 млн евро. Здесь можно отметить, что этот проект, в общем-то, «не студенческий», прошел в финал и занял третье место во многом благодаря очень грамотной проработке и качественной презентации. Думитру сообщил, что он уже третий раз принимает участие в конкурсе, что дало ему необходимый опыт подготовки проектов.

Интересный и явно требующий дальнейшей проработки проект по посадке ореховых плантаций с последующей переработкой, как плодов, так и листьев и древесины предложил Денис Мунтян. Действительно, пока к нему сложно найти финансирование: 175 тыс. долларов с учетом того, что плодоносить деревья начнут только через 4-5 лет.

Автор проекта Document management center по созданию и администрированию интернет-библиотеки Евгений Зинковский получил предложение продолжить свои разработки в бизнес-инкубаторе ASE.

Победителем стал проект по сбору и переработке пластиковых отходов. Его автор Виталие Семенчук получил первый приз – 2007 долларов от АКБ «Молдова-Агроиндбанк» и ООО «Микроинвест», а также ноутбук от «Риском компьютерс». Вторая и третья премии составили 1000 и 700 долларов, поощрительные премии финалистам – по $ 100.

Председатель жюри конкурса бизнес-консультант Лариса Бугаян отметила, что вокруг конкурса начала складываться сеть по поддержке начинающих предпринимателей. Будущие годы покажут, насколько эта сеть будет развиваться и эффективно работать по внедрению. Это было и остается главной задачей конкурса.

Brussels should give Moldova a clear perspective for future EU entry on the model of the Western Balkan states, Romanian president Traian Basescu said in the European Parliament on Wednesday (31 January) in a sign of how Europe's poorest state stands to benefit from the Bucharest lobby inside the EU.

"The people of Moldova susbcribe to European values. I'm not talking about the Republic of Moldova, but the values of the people of Moldova who feel extremely European," he said. "If we think of countries that have a European perspective we should think of Moldova and the Western Balkans."

The president showed sensitivity to Europe's current anti-enlargement climate by adding that "Romania absolutely agrees the EU's first priority is the constitutional treaty and institutional reform."

His aside about "the Republic" referred to Moldova president Vladimir Voronin's recent pro-Moscow swing.

But the linkage of Moldova with the Western Balkan countries - some of which are already EU candidates and all of which got a firm promise that their "future lies in the EU" at the December 2006 EU summit - runs counter to prevalent EU thinking on Moldova as a European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) state instead.

The ENP, which covers 19 countries in a ring stretching from Morocco to Belarus, gives zero promise of enlargement with EU-hopefuls such as Moldova or Ukraine seeing the policy as a 10-year or more waiting room before any talks on accession can even begin.

Moldova wants to break out of the ENP club by converting its current "Partnership and Cooperation Agreement" with the EU - which expires in mid-2008 - into a new "Association Agreement" with a declaration that gives clear commitments on future accession: a feat that Ukraine is also trying and failing to accomplish.

"We have to take one step at a time," Hans-Gert Poettering, the European Parliament president and self-proclaimed confidante of German leader Angela Merkel, said on Mr Basescu's ideas.

"We have to assist Moldova in moving along its European line. But we've got to bridge the next few years with a neighbourhood policy."

A Moldovan diplomat told EUobserver "we are not asking for detailed terms but we do want a clear perspective to be built into the commitments, " comparing his country to EU candidate Macedonia. "We have the same level of development, the territory is about the same size, the population is about the same size."

He acknowledged that Moldova's problem with Trasdniestria - a breakaway republic on its eastern border stuffed with Russian ammunition dumps and soldiers - will not make the EU any more keen to give acccession promises, but said an EU entry horizon "could help conflict resolution in this region."

Romania joined the EU in January 2007 in a move that has seen over half a million of Moldovans scramble to get Romanian (and so EU) citizenship, on the basis of the close historical ties between the two states: Moldova was part of Romania as recently as 1939.

"You know these people are really Romanians - they speak the same language, they have the same values. Moldova is still really part of Romania," a senior Romanian diplomat told EUobserver, with the two countries flirting with the idea of reunification in the early 1990s but with talks coming to nothing in the end.

"Romania will lobby relentlessly for Moldova's eventual accession to the EU despite an unfavourable climate in the EU toward further enlargement, offering to act as Moldova's 'advocate' in the EU and other international forums," CEPS analyst George Dura recently wrote.


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New “Youth in Action” programme stimulates young Europeans to become involved in the community
The Commission welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament, during its plenary session of 25 October, of the new ‘Youth in Action’ programme, the latest generation of the Commission’s youth programme. It covers the period 2007 - 2013. With its budget of 885 million euros, the Youth in Action programme is simpler and more flexible than its predecessor. It will be accessible to young people aged between 15 and 28 (13-30 for some specific actions), and is also open to a wider selection of partner countries.
Mr Ján Figel’, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism[1] said, “I am glad that this new Youth programme begins as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Union, and I notice that it addresses the first generation of young people that has grown up after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This new programme aims at encouraging young people to work together to acquire new skills through non-formal education activities, for a common project, for the defence of cultures, for a future of prosperity, understanding and peace. It fosters the idea of belonging to the European Union, and promotes social cohesion and intercultural dialogue, both inside and outside Europe. Since young people represent 20% of Europe’s citizens, they are called to play a more active role; this programme gives them the opportunity to play an active, constructive role in the future of Europe.”

Social tensions and the threat of unemployment in an ever-changing, competitive world economy, disproportionately affect the young. For this reason, efforts are underway at Member State and EU levels to promote a more active involvement of young people in the society in which they live. The European Commission’s action programmes in the field of youth in particular add value through their ability to facilitate the implementation of multinational, Europe-wide initiatives for young Europeans.

The Youth in Action programme will give funding support to projects under five headings:

Youth for Europe: This action is geared to reinforcing the active civic participation of young people by supporting appropriate exchanges, mobility and initiatives for young people and their projects.
European Voluntary Service: This well-known action, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in December this year, continues in the new Youth in Action programme. It aims to develop young people’s solidarity, active engagement and mutual understanding. It can take the form of either individual or collective projects to enable young people to express their personal commitments but also to involve them in the EU’s solidarity actions.
Youth of the world: This fosters young people’s mutual understanding and active engagement through an open-minded approach to the world. It opens up the programme to projects with the neighbouring countries of the enlarged Europe.
Youth workers and support systems: This action helps youth organisations that are active at the European level to promote the development of -
exchange, training and information schemes for youth workers, and
projects to stimulate innovation and quality and partnerships with regional or local entities.
Support for policy cooperation in the field of youth: This promotes co-operation among decision-makers on youth policy, preparing the participation of young people in democratic life. It also develops representative structures for young people throughout Europe. Furthermore, this action gives assistance to encourage structured dialogue between young people and those responsible for youth policy, and helps co-operation with international organisations, thus promoting discussion and reflection on the European Union’s work for young people.
The legal basis for the Youth in Action programme provides for a flexibility clause so that the programme can be adapted to any new priorities that may emerge, ready to be adapted to changing demands. The content of the programme will not be fixed for its duration; rather the initiative remains “live”.

Society changes and evolves; consequently, the Youth in Action programme is now open to a wider range of young people, from adolescence to adulthood. The new programme is cohesive, and it is now accessible to third countries, encouraging maximum participation throughout Europe and beyond.
More information:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/newprog/index_en.html

Russia is interested in defrosting the negotiations on political settlement of the Transnistria problem and working out a special, reliably guaranteed status for Transnistria with the observance of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, reads the press advisory issued by the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the results of the meeting the Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin and First Deputy Secretary of the Russian Federation's Security Council Yury Zoubakov had here with Mark Tkachuk, the Home Policy Advisor to the Moldovan President, and with Moldovan Minister of Reintegration Vasile Sova.
The document said that the Russian Federation, acting as a co-mediator in the negotiation process and as a guarantor of its results, consistently abides by the opinion that there is no reasonable alternative to attaining an all-out conflict settlement and to achieving status accords through a direct contact of the equal-right sides to the conflict.

The Russian party reaffirmed its readiness to assist in every possible way to the Chisinau and Tiraspol representatives in their resumption of such work, including on the basis of available previous achievements and ideas.

The Russian foreign ministry presumes this would be a contribution to the joint efforts by the rest 2 co-mediators - Ukraine and the OSCE, and by observers - the European Union and the United States.

The spiritual tragedies occurred within the past weeks in Orthodox churches of Ungheni, Calarasi, Floresti, Orhei and other localities bring back into attention the complicated times for Orthodoxy in Moldova in the 50's.
The Orthodox churches have been already closed this way once: with battles, bodyguards, violence. In February 1959, the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party issued a decision to close all the churches and monasteries in Moldova. A special decision of the Council of Ministers followed, after which the grim Calvary of monks, priests and believers began. At the same time, dozens of CSS (Committee for State Security) agents, having taken up positions of monastery abbots, destroyed them from the inside.

The historian Ludmila Tihonov recently has published a book called "The Soviet State policy on confessions in the Moldovan SSR". The book contains information and figures about the number of public prayer places destroyed by the exponents of the Soviet power. According to this work, over 600 churches were closed at the end of 1963, 88 of which in Floresti district, 68 in Rezina, and 65 in Edinet. In this book, as well as in the book of Valeriu Pasat, former director of the Information and Security Service, the non-devotional relationship between clerics and CSS is revealed by archive documents that have become available for the public only now.

Here is the content of the "Classified" letter of 15 May 1961 addressed to comrade Gribanov O.M., Chief of the Department No. 2 of CSS of the USSR, on behalf of the Chairman of the Security Committee beside the Council of Ministers of MSSR, I. Savcenko.

"Special notification about the closing of Hirbovat Monastery"

"An important role in the planning of preparatory measures for closing Hirbovat Monastery was played by Secret Services and trustworthy persons with leading positions within the eparchy directorate, monasteries or nearby villages.

On our assignment, the Secret Services and the trustworthy persons from amongst monks and parishioners disseminated rumours about the closing of the monastery. This action has been supported by our agent "Scurtu", who is the monastery abbot. As a result, a group of monks was formed, which requested to divide the property of the monastery. Taking advantage of the created situation, agents "Nikitin", "Belii", "Scurtu" convinced 52 out of 94 monks to leave the monastery. Afterwards the agent "Florea", the abbot of the Chitcani Monastery, following our instructions, left for Hirbovat and organized transportation of other monks to Chitcani. Then the agent "Scurtu" made an official request to the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to take under protection the property of the monastery. Agent "Kazantev", who occupied a leading position within the eparchy, actively contributed to the closing of the monastery. By his order, the persons who could have negatively influence the preparations of the monastery closing were evacuated from the monastery in the first place. On May 10, 1961, all the monks were evacuated, and the left belongings were transmitted into the possession of the state."

The Moldovan Metropoly is still under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchy, and the matter of de-CSS-ing the Moldovan Orthodox Church has never been discussed. At the same time, 40-year-old scenarios seem to recur.

The things that have kept happening since 1991 up to the present day raise question marks about the relationships between the Russian Secret Services and the Pro-Russian Church of Moldova. This is not the first time when Moscow Patriarchy takes decisions that are opposite to the wish of the parishioners from Moldovan religious communities and any attempt of people to protest is stifled by force.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, also ratified by Moldova, states that "Any person has the right to freedom of religion; this right includes the freedom to change his/her religion or belief, as well as the freedom to manifest his/her religion or belief, independently or in association with other people, in public and in private." This right seems to be frequently violated when a religious community decides to withdraw its membership from the structure of the Pro-Russian Church.

It is well known that public prayer places of the Bessarabian Metropoly seized by the Soviet Government after 1940 have never been re-ceded. At the same time, there are already some cases when religious communities of the Bessarabian Metropoly have been dispossessed of their prayer places even after 1991. For example, the well-known case of the Saint Nicolae Church of Chisinau seized by the Moldovan Metropoly after the decease of the parson Vasile.

There have been no opposite cases, because the relationship between the authorities of the Republic of Moldova and the Moscow Patriarchy seem to be very tight. Last spring, the President Voronin was officially visited by his Eminence Alexii II and awarded the latter the highest state decoration, "The Order of the Republic". The President Voronin has also received high decorations from Moscow. Now he is wearing on his chest the "Alexander Nevsky" order. Nevertheless, the President has not taken any measures to calm down the disturbances around the "Alexander Nevsky" church of Ungheni. Although, according to the legal standards, all confessions are equal before the law, the President Voronin has repeatedly expressed his unwillingness to recognize the Orthodoxy within the Bessarabian Metropoly, declaring during the very visit to Chisinau of the Russian Patriarch that "The Bessarabian Metropoly does not exist".

But besides the phobia of another Orthodox church, the communist leader seems to have another phobia of any Christian initiative not yet approved by Moscow. For, the scandal aroused by the appointment of the cleric Petru Musteata as the Bishop of Ungheni, Nisporeni, and Calarasi was caused by the fact that this decision had been taken by Moscow, regardless of the will of a few dozens of parsons and religious communities of Moldova.

Why the Western parishes of Moldova do not want Petru Musteata? Some say that he might have disregarded the Christian prescription of immaculacy of the body; others speak about corruption within the Orthodox elite of Chisinau and Moscow; the rest refer to the activity of secret agents loyal to Moscow within the religious communities on the Prut River. It is possible that all or none of the above scenarios are true. Only the secret archives can provide clear arguments, but these would be revealed only after a few decades.

From now on, the scenarios seem to be clear. Moscow has never accepted to lose in Moldova, neither on the battlefield of Transnistria, nor in the gas conflict, nor in the wine battle. All the more, Moscow will not cede the public prayer places besides the EC border, especially since it has the support of the owners of "Alexander Nevsky" church and order. The scenario may have another turn only if religious communities, tired of revolts, find forces to follow, besides the path of Redemption, the one of the European justice.