Foreign Affairs on December 16–31, 2006

Republic of Moldova — Council of Europe

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sentenced Moldova on December 19, 2006 in the case Moisei vs. Moldova. The ECHR concluded that a previous judgment in favour of the applicant was not executed without plausible grounds, so that Article 6 (1) and Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated. As the applicant did not benefit from an effective appeal, the ECHR has also indicated the violation of Article 13 of the Convention. The Court ordered the payment of 192 euros in pecuniary damage, 500 euros in non-pecuniary damage and 600 euros in costs and expenses.

The same day, the ECHR decided on the case Oferta Plus vs. Moldova. The applicant has claimed the violation of the right to a fair trial and protection of property through non-execution of a final judgment (on payment of 20 million lei) by national courts and its further revision, at the request of the Prosecutor-General’s Office. The ECHR noted that the non-execution of the final judgment and its annulment contravene to Article 6 of the Convention and Article 1 of the Additional Protocol. The Court considers that the penal investigation against director of the applicant and his arrest aim to discourage the applicant in maintaining his application to the ECHR, this being a violation of Article 34 of the Convention. The problem of non-pecuniary and pecuniary damages (estimated at 1.2 million euros), costs and expenses will be resolved under a distinct ECHR judgment. Representatives of the applicant in front of ECHR have published the names of persons who are to blame for the sentencing at www.lhr.md.

Republic of Moldova — European Union

On December 19, 2006, the European Union (EU) Council adopted mandates that empower the European Commission to negotiate agreements on readmission and facilitation of visa regime between the EU and Moldova.

The signing of these agreements is stipulated by objectives 47 and 48 of the EU-Moldova Action Plan, the start of negotiations on facilitation of visa regime being a priority of Moldova’s dialogue with the EU in 2006. Given this: an interministerial working group was created in March 2006 so that to work out a draft national action plan on facilitation of visa regime for EU; the Parliament adopted on June 8, 2006 the law on abolition of visa regime for citizens of EU member states, the US, Canada, the Swiss Confederation and Japan, a list completed in December with Norway and Iceland; the Government approved in November 2006 the mentioned national action plan.

However, President Voronin was unsatisfied at a news conference held to make the totals of 2006 that negotiations on facilitation of visa regime did not start in 2006 and he was angry with the lack of a visible progress in gaining the Autonomous Trade Preferences of the EU. For comparison, assessments by the European Commission regarding implementation of the first seven action plans signed with the EU within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), published on December 4, 2006, show that Ukraine initialled the agreements on readmission and facilitation of visa regime with EU in October 2006.

Generalising his dissatisfaction with the pace of the European integration process, President Voronin warned that “I will show a red card to Government, if things go the same way in continuation.” President Voronin has reiterated similar criticism at a meeting on implementation of the EU-Moldova Action Plan, with the participation of important decision makers. The chief of state invoked: the inefficient coordination at the national level of the activities undertaken in the implementation process of the Action Plan; the unsatisfactory coordination between ministries and departments participating in cooperation with community institutions; failure of Moldovan representatives to honour commitments or their late fulfilment.

In the context, Vladimir Voronin demanded that 2007 become the stage of some decisive and unordinary measures aimed at proximity with the EU. For this purpose, he highlighted the need of working out an action plan on basis of an analysis of the progress report for Moldova within ENP, published by the European Commission on December 4, which would exclude any possibility to fail the recommendations by European experts. The president also indicated the need of establishing a single national mechanism with well-chosen competences of responsible institutions, which would consolidate the capacity of absorption of financial assistance from EU.

Later, President Voronin has told the last sitting of the cabinet of ministers held in 2006 that mistakes and delays in the European integration process “were not committed deliberately, but on the contrary.”

Republic of Moldova — Romania

Romanian President Traian Basescu has said among others in an interview with the French publication Les Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace that many Moldovans are trying to obtain the Romanian citizenship. At present, Basescu noted, there are 450,000 naturalisation applications submitted especially by youths willing to study or work in Romania. At the same time, the Romanian president hinted that Romania will not take unilateral measures to award the Romanian citizenship and this issue will be consulted with the EU.

Speaking about Transnistrian problem, President Basescu said that its resolution would be simple, if the international law was respected and if the international community respected the integrity of every state and inviolability of borders. In the context, the Romanian president called for respect for international law and invited Russia to honour its commitments and withdraw its troops from Transnistria.

Republic of Moldova — Russian Federation

President Vladimir Voronin has told the totalling news conference mentioned above that the atmosphere in which the Moldova-Russia dialogue is developing is based on new principles. Moldova and the Russian Federation, the president continued, have never worked in such a tight contact and such an intense regime before. According to President Voronin, the Moldovan-Russian ties have gradually improved after his August 8, 2006 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Moldovan president noted that Russia was and will be the strategic partner of Moldova and he expressed his belief that stances of Chisinau and Moscow regarding the Transnistrian settlement process will also approach.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has appreciated the Moldovan-Russian relations in a relatively similar manner. He told a conference held to make the totals of the diplomatic year 2006 that Russia’s relations with Moldova are based now on “a honest, concrete and professional dialogue, including commercial-economic ties.” According to the Russian minister, existing commercial problems are gradually resolved and a favourable base for resolution of other problems is being created. This dialogue, Lavrov continued, is “normal, without elements of show […], as the two heads of state have agreed,” noting that Russia is satisfied with implementation of the earlier reached agreements.

Some recent evolutions in bilateral dialogue confirm the trends to extend the Moldovan-Russian relations. Experts of the Russian Service Rosselihoznadzor have inspected some Moldovan meat processing enterprises to identify companies “which respect all sanitary-veterinary requirements” for resumption of meat and sausage exports to Russia. Secondly, the signing on December 27, 2006, in Moscow, of a bilateral Protocol on concluding negotiations between Russia and Moldova regarding accession of Russia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) may be invoked. Minister of Economy and Commerce Igor Dodon was announcing earlier that Moldova would like to obtain instead the signing of an export taxation agreement, especially the one on Russian natural gas. Russia is still applying VAT on natural gas exports by Moldova, while WTO requirements stipulate that the destination country, not the exporting country must apply the VAT.

Under recent agreements with Russia’s Gazprom, Moldova will pay 170 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres of natural gas in 2007, 75 percent of the European average in 2008, 90 percent in 2009, and the price will be adjusted to the European average starting with 2011. This gradual rise of natural gas price is seen as a result of the extension of bilateral relations. At the same time, Russian media outlets said that Moldova accepts to cede the gas distribution networks to Gazprom and to increase the participation of the Russian concern in the Moldova-Gaz society in exchange for a gradual rise of the gas tariff. First Deputy Premier Zinaida Greceanii replied that Moldova will capitalise the distribution grids and will include them in the registered capital of Moldova-Gaz, while the sides have agreed not to touch the shares.

CEFTA

Moldova attended the CEFTA summit in Bucharest on December 19, 2006. Taking part in the meeting were also Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Kosovo. Moldova along with other participating states signed the agreement on modernisation and enlargement of CEFTA, becoming part of this agreement, and undersigned to a joint declaration.

The agreement on modernisation and enlargement of CEFTA, known as CEFTA 2006, replaced the old Central European Free Trade Agreement signed in 1992 and bilateral free trade agreements. CEFTA was created in December 1992 by founding members the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Czechoslovakia in that period), Poland and Hungary. Romania joined the CEFTA in 1997, Bulgaria in 1999, Croatia in 2003 and Macedonia in 2006. An initial goal of CEFTA was to prepare member countries for accession to the EU and this aim remains in force for CEFTA 2006, being reiterated in the joint declaration. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary had withdrawn from CEFTA when they joined the EU, taking over the commercial policy of the EU, and Romania and Bulgaria will do the same on January 1, when they will become EU members.

CEFTA 2006 calls for the annulment of import and export duties, quantity restrictions and other taxes with equivalent effect in trade with industrial products and majority of agro-industrial products. The new agreement also contains provisions on trade with services, intellectual property, procurements, investment promotion, customs management and preferential origin rules, procedure and conditions for implementation of safeguard measures and commercial protection tools. CEFTA 2006 corresponds to WTO norms and obligations of the Parties in relations with the EU.

CIS

Minister of Economy and Commerce Igor Dodon represented Moldova at the 32nd sitting of the CIS Economic Council in Moscow on December 27, 2006. The sitting tackled problems related to energy, transportation, construction, etc. Also, the Council examined measures to combat the penetration of counterfeited medications on CIS markets and the draft concept on tariff policy in the field of railway transportation coordinated by CIS members.

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