Moratorium on Agricultural Lands Confirmed

In spite of the President’s veto, a moratorium has been announced on the sale of lands designated for agricultural use. Changing the designation of land plots will only be possible if the government were to deem such an action necessary for State or social reasons. According to the Parliamentary Commission for Branch Economy, the necessity for the legislation arose due to a massive amount of cases where people sought to change the status of land plots and have them transferred into non-agricultural category, following the Parliament’s decision to bar foreign companies from purchasing agricultural lands until 31 December 2014. The Parliament overcame the President’s veto on the issue with a 91 to 9 majority vote.