Brussels, 12/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - Late afternoon Monday 12 January, the European Commission announced it had activated the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection at the request of the Republic of Moldova, whose population has been deprived of gas due to the gas dispute between Ukraine and Russia. Assistance in favour of this country is provided by Austrian authorities in the form of large capacity heaters and electrical generators which arrived in Chisinau, the Moldovan capital, on Monday 12 January.
On Friday 9 January the Moldovan authorities called upon the EU for assistance. The Republic of Moldova, which depends entirely upon gas imports from Russia, has been seriously affected by the total disruption of gas supply during a particularly intense winter. More than 50,000 people have been left without gas supplies. (L.C./transl.jl)