2025-01-01
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Hello and welcome to World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
I'm Roger Hearing.
And on this edition, the challenge for Moldova as Russian gas supplies are cut off, we'll also be looking into the new year after a difficult 2024 for Australia's bars, restaurants and cafes.
How are they going to fare in 2025 and also in the coming year?
What can we expect from interest rates from and from tariffs imposed probably by the new Trump administration?
But first, much of Europe may have been confronting Russia in the past two and a half years following the invasion of Ukraine, but Moscow has still been supplying gas and it's been flowing through Ukraine despite the war.
That, however, is about to end.
January 1st will see the expiry of a five year transit agreement that's kept the gas flowing.
The remaining buyers of Russian gas, such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria, have arranged for alternative supply supplies.
But the halting of supplies via Ukraine will be a major blow to Moldova.
Russia has been supplying Moldova with about 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
So what will Moldova do now?
Nico Popescu is the former Deputy prime Minister of Moldova and he joins me now.
Niku, thanks for being with us here on World Business report.
How big a problem is this for Moldova?
Good evening.
Well, the part of Moldova which is governed by the government in Chisinel has solutions to get its own gas for already more than two years.
Yes.
So they are sorted because the pipeline went into or the supply went into Transnistria, which is this breakaway part of Moldova, is that right?