Ion Sturza

Following the successful launch of the Leaders' Meeting and Awards in 2018, Emerging Europe, a London-based business, media and research platform, whose mission is to contribute to the social and economic growth of 23 countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, is delighted to have launched applications for the 2019 edition.

Some 40,000 people demonstrated in the Moldovan capital Chisinau on Sunday to demand early elections amid the ongoing crisis in Europe's poorest country, local media reported. 

"The people are with us. They do not want to support oligarchs and the criminal authorities," opposition leader Andrei Nastase told protesters, AFP news agency reported.

Demonstrators against Moldova's new pro-European administration broke through police lines and entered the parliament building in Chisinau late Wednesday despite police attempts to disperse them with tear gas, media reported.

Bucharest has voiced concerns about continuing political uncertainty in Moldova after its  president and a coalition of political parties failed to reach a compromise agreement over who will become the country's next prime minister.

Romanians have welcomed news that Moldovan President Nicolae Timofit has asked Ion Sturza, a wealthy pro-Western businessman who also has Romanian citizenship, to form a new government.

"This is a good news as Sturza has a clear a pro-European outlook. The problem is that he has to form a new political majority in Moldova, which is not easy,"  journalist Cristian Pantazi said.