Foreign Affairs on March 5–18, 2007

Republic of Moldova — Council of Europe

The Government approved on March 7, 2007 the candidacies raised by a special commission to the post of Moldova’s judge to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The candidates selected among 13 persons are: Victoria Iftodi, former minister of justice and Moldovan ambassador to France; Victor Orindas, judge of the Chisinau Economic Court; Lilia Vasilevici, judge at the Centru Court of the Chisinau municipality. Under existing procedures, these three candidacies will be raised to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The PACE will select one of the three persons within 2.5 months. According to experts, these persons were not selected under a strict procedure and they would not be the best representatives of Moldova to the ECHR, while Lilia Vasilevici, in her quality of judge of the Centru Court of Chisinau, has even made some decisions that the Strasbourg-based Court condemned.

The ECHR sentenced Moldova on March 13 in the case Castravet vs Moldova. Applicant Andrei Castravet has complained to the ECHR that he was jailed without enough and relevant reasons and he could not see his lawyer under confidential conditions. The applicant was held without reasons at the Preventive Detention Facility of CCCEC for a long time and the meetings with his lawyer took place in a room with glass walls that separated them. The ECHR obliged Moldova to pay 2,500 euros to the applicant in non-pecuniary damages and 2,000 euros in costs and expenses.

On March 16, the special representative of the CoE secretary-general to Moldova, Vladimir Ristovski, presented the priorities of the CoE in relations with Moldova in 2007 and made the totals of cooperation in 2006. According to Moldpres, Ristovski reported a considerable improvement of quality of national legislative reforms in the past years, stressing the importance of implementing legal regulations. The CoE representative outlined the need of CoE surveys on all national normative acts, noting that not all documents of this kind are examined by this institution and recommended Moldovan authorities to consider suggestions by CoE experts, adding that many of them are ignored.

Republic of Moldova — European Union

The special representative of the European Union (E.U.) to Moldova, Kalman Miszei, was on his first visit to Chisinau in the period concerned after his assignment to this office and met President Vladimir Voronin, Speaker Marian Lupu, Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan.

The talks focussed on activities linked to Moldova’s course toward European integration and recent developments in the “Transnistrian case”. As regards the first topic, the sides discussed the negotiation of a facilitated visa regime with the E.U.; the opening of the Joint European Visa Issuance Centre in Chisinau on April 25; activity of EUBAM; awarding of Autonomous Trade Preferences and future relations between Moldova and E.U.

It is worth to note in this context that President Voronin signed on March 15 a decree on start of negotiations for signing of a visa facilitation agreement between Moldova and the European Commission. Earlier, the chief of state was unsatisfied at a news conference, at which he made the totals of 2006 that the visa facilitation negotiations did not begin in 2006. He warned the Government that he could show a “red card”, generalising his dissatisfaction with the pace of the European integration process.

The 5th meeting of the EUBAM Consulting Council took place on March 13. It evaluated the activity of EUBAM in the first months of 2007, studied how customs and border guard services of Moldova and Ukraine meet the recommendations of EUBAM and approved the action plan of

EUBAM for February-November 2007. EUBAM head Ferenc Banfi appreciated the activity of the mission, noting that the best progresses were achieved against illegal border crossing, in the field of development of the risk analysis system and cooperation between customs and border guard services of Moldova and Ukraine. The basic tasks from the plan of EUBAM for February-November 2007 include the improvement of functioning standards of customs and border guard services, of risk analysis structures and intensification of the joint border control.

Republic of Moldova — Romania

Tensions between Moldova and Romania have deepened in the period covered by this issue of the journal Governing and Democracy in Moldova. The relations between the two countries worsened after Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin has accused Romania and the Chisinau Government released later a statement replying some of the criticisms revealed by the head of state.

President Voronin said on March 3 during the Maxima programme aired by TV channel NIT that: (a) the Republic of Moldova has been imposed Romanian standards both from outside and inside for many years; (b) Romania itself should implement the standards that it is recommending, particularly on respect for rights of national minorities; (c) Moldova does not need Romania as an “advocate” on the European integration route; (d) Moldova wants good neighbourhood relations with Romania based on equality and respect in bilateral relations and without Romania’s interferences in affairs of the Chisinau authorities.

The statement by Moldovan Government resumes some opinions of President Voronin and hints that the Chisinau executive is troubled by how Bucharest regards the problem of awarding the Romanian citizenship to Moldovans and by Romania’s initiative to open and coordinate a Joint European Centre to issue E.U. visas. The Moldovan Government describes as groundless the arguments of Bucharest regarding its concerns for Moldova’s European future and Romania’s false attitude as regards its intention to assume the role of coordinator of the mentioned centre. In this context, it noted that “Moldova does not accept the future of its citizens to be the object of some double and dangerous backstairs games, which undermine the national security and the principles of statehood for what Moldovan citizens had sacrificed themselves.” Under these conditions, Moldova calls on understanding and support of its European and international partners “to influence the return of Romanian interests to good neighbourhood relations and understanding, to a true European spirit.”

Replying to accusations of Moldovan authorities, Romanian President Basescu said that “Romania will not change its policy on Republic of Moldova. We do not have what to adjust as long as we respect the standards of democracy, the human rights, the history, and the neighbours.” As regards the dispute around the problem of awarding the Romanian citizenship, the Romanian president noted that the new law on citizenship will be consulted with the European Commission, so that its provisions not to affect the interests of other E.U. members.

Minister of Administration and Interior Affairs Vasile Blaga has reconfirmed at a joint sitting of the commissions for foreign policy of the Romanian Parliament that there are about 500,000 applications of Moldovans for Romanian citizenship and noted that there could be approximately 900,000 individual applications for citizenship, as many letters were written by whole families. Blaga underlined that the E.U. visa issuance centre, which Romania would like to open and coordinate, wants to be an alternative of the similar centre that will open in the diplomatic representation of Hungary in April and the potential of the first centre could exceed the 10,000 visas which the centre under Hungary’s auspices could issue to Moldovans a year.

The statement by Moldovan Government followed an announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan on March 8, 2007, when he said that Moldova considers that two Romanian consular offices should not open in Balti and Cahul any longer. It is worth to note that Presidents Voronin and Basescu agreed on opening of these centres at a January 16 meeting in Chisinau. Under an agreement of the two presidents, the centres should open in maximum ten days after their meeting. On March 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration delivered an official note to the Romanian Embassy in Chisinau, warning that the Moldovan authorities withdraw the previous note which allowed the opening of temporary offices of the Romanian Embassy in Balti and Cahul.

Republic of Moldova — Ukraine

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Veselovsky was on a two-day visit to Chisinau on occasion of the 15th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations between Moldova and Ukraine. The Ukrainian official met his Moldovan counterpart Eugenia Kistruga and discussed the bilateral relations and prospects of developing them in future.

On this occasion, the Ukrainian Embassy has appreciated the evolution of relations between the two countries and noted that Moldovan-Ukrainian commercial exchanges have grown more than two-fold in the past five years and Ukraine ranked the first place among Moldova’s trade partners in 2006.

Republic of Moldova — Russian Federation

Certain progresses were achieved in the Moldovan-Russian relations in the period concerned. In particular, the fruit and vegetable exports to the Russian Federation have restarted and a team of Russian experts inspected Moldovan wineries for resumption of wine exports to the same destination.

Moldova resumed the fruit and vegetable exports to the Russian Federation on March 6, 2007 after a two-year break. Under agreements, Moldovan fruits and vegetables will be exported via a customs station in Briceni and exporters will have to present contracts with Russian importers to customs officers. Domestic producers will be allowed to export fruits and vegetables of 2006 crop only from March 6 to April 6, 2007. As regards the 2007 crop, it will be necessary that a new Russian expert mission extend the export permits.

A group of Russian experts of Rospotrebnadzor visited Moldova to inspect wine plants on March 12–17. Group head Boris Bokitko said that a report will be worked out after controls and it will be delivered to the Rospotrebnadzor administration in order to make decisions on further actions.

Elsewhere, Moldova warned the Russian Federation at the March 8 session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna that uncoordinated visits of Russian officials to the Transnistrian region and the unauthorised activity of Russian consular functionaries in Tiraspol contravene to the status of mediator of this country.

Republic of Moldova — Belarus

Minsk has restricted the importation of bottled wines from Moldova after Chisinau decided to stop the exportation of wines in bulk to Belarus. We recall that Chisinau made this decision in the context of efforts to resume the wine exports to Russia. Competent bodies of Russia raised dissatisfaction that Belarusian economic agents were re-exporting bottled wines imported from Moldova in bulk to the Russian market, as wine deliveries to the Russian Federation are restricted.

Statistics reveal that Belarus is the third market for Moldovan wines after Russia and Ukraine. Belarusian importers bought Moldovan spirits worth 36 million dollars, including bottled wines worth 16.5 million dollars and wine in bulk worth 16.2 million dollars in 2006.

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