INVITATION: 20th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Moldova Celebration in New York
Moldovan Community in New York
Is inviting you to an evening of art and culture in celebration of
“20th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Moldova”
and National Holiday “Our Language” (Limba Noastra)
Saturday, August 27, 2011 @ 5 pm
Restaurant “Bucharest”
43-45 40th Street, Queens (Sunnyside), NY 11104
The program will feature:
a CONCERT of folk music by “Balada” (artistic director – Victor Ciubotaru)
and performances by folk singer Valentina Popa and Italian tenor Luciano Lamonarca;
a POETIC RECITAL of Grigore Vieru by actresses Silvia Pena and Simona Popescu; and an ART EXPO “With love to Moldova” (Cu drag de Moldova) by Master of Arts Ion Moraru.
The artistic program will be followed by a sit-down dinner, featuring a selection of national cuisine and Moldovan wine accompanied by Moldovan pop & folk music and Hora Mare – a national dance that involves everyone who wants to participate!
Community Leaders, Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps and Cultural Personalities will be among the guests of the celebration.
Entrance ticket: $20 (includes a bottle of Moldovan wine for two) at the door.
Dinner (selection from the menu) available at additional cost directly in the restaurant.
For RESERVATIONS, contact Evghenia Berzan at evghenia.berzan@gmail.com, 908-787-2128
(provide your name, contact info and number of people in your party).
The advance reservation will ensure you the best seats close to the stage.
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:
Foundation ”Gloria Art” – Tamara Moraru (tel: 347-602-7241)
Foundation “Grigore Vieru” – Andrei Guzun (tel: 718-820-2177)
Group “Promovam Moldova @ New York” (Moldovan Happy Hours) – Evghenia Berzan (tel: 908-787-2128)
Business the American Way – “Really, do we have a contract already?” A Cautionary Tale to Moldovan, Romanian, and U.S. Traders
By Sergiu Gherman
One of the principles underlying the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) is to interpret business agreements in favor of their validity. Generally, a valid contract has four elements: (1) offer, (2) acceptance, (3) consideration, and (4) lack of valid defenses, such as illegality or one of the parties is a minor. Under the UCC, the shipment of goods sent in response to a purchase order creates a binding contract, regardless of whether a formal document with the an fancy word “contract” or “agreement” was signed by the parties, or whether there was a seal or a handshake.
Foreign companies trading with the U.S. partners sometimes do not even imagine that their business deal matured into a fully-fledged binding agreement in the eyes of the law, while both sides are still working on the provisions to the formal document entitled “CONTRACT.” Examples to such conduct galore. A recent one involves a company from Romania’s neighboring Turkey.
In the case Onuss Ortak Nokta v. Terminal Exchange Inc., a Turkish company desired to sell Verifones (payment terminals for credit cards) to a Florida company. The parties settled on the essential terms of the purchase and pursued to formalize the deal with a written contract. Before such a written contract was drafted in its final form, the American company dispatched a purchase order, and the Turkish company responded by a prompt shipment of the goods along with an invoice for approximately half million dollars.
The goods were already in Florida, but the parties were still trying to figure out when and how to pay for the goods, and when the risk of loss would transfer from the buyer to seller. Suddenly, the company in Florida decided that it would not pay for the order until some undetermined time in the future. The contract was never signed, and there was no formal agreement as both parties have envisioned. The foreign company alleged to have incurred freight, customs, warehousing charges, import charges, and expenses in trying to find another buyer.
The position of the Floridian company was that there was no formal agreement and therefore they could not be held in breach of a contract that did not exist and that no claims associated with shipping of the goods, custom clearing and storage at a Florida warehouse could be brought against them.
The Turkish business filed a claim in the Miami federal court. The district court disagreed with the arguments advanced by the local company and decided that in fact a binding contract existed. The court explained that all the elements of a contract formation were present. The offer occurred when the Florida company placed a purchase order. Acceptance occurred when the Turkish company shipped the goods with the invoice to Miami. Additionally, the court reasoned, under to the UCC the shipment of goods pursuant to a purchase order constituted acceptance, which created a binding contract. While defendant argued that the absence of a signed “contract” clearly indicates that there was no agreement, the court rejected such argument and stated such facts do not undo the contract that already came into existence by operation of law.
The reader may be curious to know that while the lawsuit was originally filed in May of 2009, it now barely comes to an end. Apparently, an excessive fondness for traditional contractual formalities and a strong desire to dive into what looked like a good deal at first, hurt both parties. While the transaction was estimated at half million dollars worth of goods, at the end of the litigation process the legal fees may approximate that same amount. Under the American rule, each side pays its own legal costs – except in some limited circumstances. Therefore, unless the legal costs are shifted to the opponent, the winning side may face the Pyrrhic victory.
The lesson is not an easy one. On the one hand, there is a strong enticement to be the first to profit from a lucrative opportunity which may be unique. On the other, not knowing your trading partner well, not knowing the legal principles underlying the deal, lack of insurance, neglecting your own level of risk tolerance, lack of thinking through the worst-case scenario – all are the considerations that are often left to chance. Yet that chance may later await and punish both traders.
The Ambassador of Moldova on U.S.-Moldova Relations and the Future of the Republic
Rahim Kanani, Editor-in-chief, World Affairs Commentary
In a recent interview with H.E. Igor Munteanu, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the United States and Canada, we discussed Vice President Joe Biden’s recent visit to the country, the U.S.-Moldova relationship, and the future of the Republic.
Rahim Kanani: Recently, the vice president of the United States Joe Biden visited the Republic of Moldova. How would you characterize the significance of this visit?
Igor Munteanu: Joe Biden’s visit is of tremendous importance to us for at least three different reasons. First, this visit is a clear sign of support from the United States to the Moldovan Government, which will mark two decades of independence this year. In the years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moldova is emerging as a successful ‘model-case’ of transformation that combines genuine domestic will, with a clear vision and path forward, along with strong support from its main partners: the European Union and the United States. As a result, Moldova has been able to move on the path towards negotiating an Association Agreement with the EU based on visa liberalization and Free Trade Comprehensive Agreements, which are vital elements of the 2009 political changes in Moldova. And third, the visit by Vice President Biden is relevant to US policy in Europe, since it reclaims the strategic relevance of the region, thus, sending strong signals to all its partners, both in the EU and in Russia, that the US will not neglect its major obligations to the nations liberated after the Soviet collapse. Therefore, the visit is an important testament to the most recent reforms in my country, and their solidarity with Moldova’s determination to accelerate its integration into the Western world of democracies. This is the path where we are heading on today.
Good news for Moldovan wine: EU and Moldova conclude talks on Geographical Indications
Moldova’s wine industry will be among the first to benefit after the EU and Moldova today concluded negotiations on an agreement to protect their respective Geographical Indications. A Commission press release said the agreement aimed at “promoting and fostering trade relations in agricultural products and foodstuffs originating in the territories of both Moldova and the European Union.”
EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Cioloş said: “This agreement is a further step in strengthening our system of GIs around the world, and it also gives relations between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova a new, positive dynamic. It builds a stronger partnership, aiming at promoting and protecting quality products, benefiting farmers and industries in both Moldova and the EU. Agriculture could be one of the anchors for the closer integration of the Moldovan economy in the EU common market.”
Moldova is the second among the EU neighbourhood countries after Georgia to negotiate an agreement with the EU that would help promote the quality of agricultural production and protect consumers by ensuring that they are not misled on the true origin and quality of the product. Also, “through this agreement, Moldova is adapting its domestic legislation to the highest standards on the protection of intellectual property rights,” the press release said.
The initial protection of two wine Geographical Indications originating from Moldova is expected to help market these products on the EU market and foster the system of protection of GIs in Moldova by extending it to other categories of products. It should also help promote the GIs system, bring tourism to the regions and launch marketing strategies for new markets.
“The agreement, which should serve as a dynamic instrument that will lead to the improvement in the quality of the products traded between the European Union and Moldova,” the press release said, adding: “It will introduce a mechanism for updates and for regular consultations, which will help when it comes to integrating new products in the list of the Geographical Indications.”
WSJ: Biden Pledges Aid, Support to Moldova
By JONATHAN WEISMAN at wsj.com
CHISINAU, Moldova—U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, fresh off a tough speech on Russian human rights, sided firmly Friday with this country’s Europe-minded leader over opponents pressing for closer ties to Moscow.
In a meeting with Prime Minister Vlad Filat and at an outdoor speech to thousands of Moldovans, Mr. Biden sought to boost reformers in this poorest of European countries. He called for the resumption of negotiations with secessionists seeking to break part of Moldova away and align with Russia. But, he said, such talks must be aimed at “a settlement that preserves Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He also sought to link Moldova’s democrats with the democratic uprisings throughout Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
“Freedom is in the air, and democracy is emerging in countries that for generations have known nothing but authoritarian rule,” he told a throng outside the capital’s opera house.
Mr. Biden, just weeks after becoming vice president, coined the phrase “reset” when he called for a new start on U.S.-Russian relations after the rocky road the Bush administration had with the Kremlin. In three days in Moscow, Mr. Biden tried to move that “reset” beyond national security cooperation to deeper economic ties. But he also pressed to see how firm the footing is for Washington and Moscow. In his Moscow speech, he named names of dissidents and Kremlin opponents languishing in prison or killed.
And here, as the first U.S. vice president ever to visit Moldova, he pledged $262 million in aid over five years, hailed the country’s 41-year-old prime minister, gave verbal support to democratic movements in Ukraine and Georgia that are pushing their countries away from Moscow, and demanded the immediate release of political prisoners from communist Belarus.
“You know achieving democracy is not easy, but you also know it is worth the struggle,” he told Moldovans. “As you continue on this journey, I promise you America will be your partner.”
