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Foreign Affairs on November 1–16, 2007
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e-journal #106 |
European integration
Visa facilitation and readmission agreements
On November 8, 2007, the Moldovan Parliament ratified and President Vladimir Voronin promulgated the European Union — Moldova visa facilitation and readmission agreements. On the other hand, the European Parliament (EP) approved on November 13 these documents. The EU Council is due to adopt the two agreements. According to effective procedures, the Council must approve the agreements with qualified majority voting (QMV); it means at least 255 out of the 345 votes of member states, which represent at least 62 percent of the EU population.
NCEI
The National Commission for European Integration (NCEI) has held two sittings in the period concerned. As a rule, starting September 13 since the NCEI held sittings every week, central public authorities have reported the implementation of the EU-Moldova Action Plan (EUMAP) in their fields. The governmental institutions which reported the implementation of EUMAP include among others the Ministry of Education and Youth, the Moldovan Academy of Sciences, the Bureau for Interethnic Relations (BIR), the Ministry of Finance, the Customs Service, the National Agency for the Protection of Competition, and the State Administration of Civil Aviation (SACA) .
According to the website www.europa.md, Minister of Finance Mihai Pop told the November 9 NCEI sitting that the EUMAP stipulates 41 measures for the Ministry of Finance. He noted that the ministry has accomplished 22 out of the 41 measures, another 17 are being implemented, one was transferred to the charge of the Commission for Financial Market and another one was not executed yet. The last measure is linked to the draft law on budgetary system and budgetary process, which will be worked out concomitantly with the draft law on management of public finances.
Representatives of other authorities reported that most of the actions planned for implementation of EUMAP have been executed. BIR and SACA assured that they have executed all their actions stipulated by EUMAP.
After the 8th issue of Euromonitor report concerning the implementation of EUMAP in the 3rd quarter of 2007 was released on November 6, Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev ordered central public bodies at the November 9 NCEI sitting to study this document and to remedy the signalled shortcomings. Tarlev underlined the need to create a coordinating council of independent experts, competent NGOs, in order to ensure the complete implementation of EUMAP.
The prime minister explained that the political shortcomings of EUMAP signalled by this report are linked to the lack of clear assessment criteria “which leaves room for wrong, populist, declarative interpretations.” “All so-called reports, Tarlev continued, are delivered to the European Commission and Moldova is accused and punished. Developers of these reports must carry responsibility for statements of so-called reports, including nongovernmental organisations, because there are laws and rules of the game.”
The statements by prime minister reveal the way he understands the cooperation between authorities and civil society in the European integration process, they strengthen the conviction that there is an important dose of formalism in this cooperation process, prove that benefits of the state-civil society partnership still are realised a little bit at the highest level, and not the last, begin from the false premise that “developers of reports” would be interested to see Moldova “punished” and to harden its European course.
Interview with President Voronin
President Voronin commented on the key priority of foreign policy — the European integration — in an interview with the Moldpres news agency on November 15, two days before the deadline established by Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev for the plenary implementation of EUMAP.
In contrast with reports by central public authorities which assure that the majority of EUMAP provisions have been implemented, President Voronin said that “further we have to work hard within this action plan. We still have many tasks to fulfil.” The president’s opinion coincides to a certain extent with the opinion by nongovernmental organisations which monitor the EUMAP implementation, and indicates with two days before November 17 that the objective formulated by prime minister was failed.
Voronin drew the attention on the same problematical fields related to the EUMAP implementation, which the European Commission signalled in the December 2006 Progress Report on Moldova. The signalled areas are: the respect for human rights, the freedom of the media, the investment climate and the anti-corruption struggle.
In order to protect the human rights better, President Voronin said that it is planned the extension of the Constitutional Court competences, so that to become the last national court in this area. The dignitary acknowledged that there are problems related to the editorial policy of the TeleRadio-Moldova (TRM) Company, a fact which the TRM administration has insistently denied more than once.
Bilateral cooperation
Republic of Moldova — Romania
The Moldova-Romania relations are very turbulent in continuation. The identity issue is the main reason of dispute. Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan has also confirmed this fact in an interview with Radio Free Europe.
After a certain desire to relieve the bilateral relations was observed in late October 2007, developments in the first half of November proved that this wish was apparent.
By stating to the Romanian newspaper Ziua that Romania is to blame for many problems related to bilateral relations, President Voronin drew one more demarcation line in the official dialogue between the sides. Voronin resumed in his interview older invectives against Romania, saying that the neighbouring country is the “last empire in Europe,” and launched new accusations. Voronin’s statements consternated one part of Romanian and Moldovan public opinion.
This time the Romanian political class was more cautious to comment the accusations brought by Moldova’s president. Many Romanian officials refrained from commenting Voronin’s statements, others made moderate comments, giving Voronin’s accusations in the charge of ideology and mentality of the party he leads.
Republic of Moldova — Russia
The Russian State Duma decided on November 7 to introduce a moratorium on the CFE Adapted Treaty. Competent experts say the Duma decision affects Moldova’s interests and introduces more discretion which Russia will be able to use in order to justify its European and international conduct.
According to Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan, Moldova will use the OSCE summit set for the end of this year in order to raise concern over this decision by the Russian State Duma and to demand in continuation the withdrawal of the Russian military presence from its territory.
Multilateral cooperation
Republic of Moldova — Council of Europe (CoE)
Visit of Terry Davis to Chisinau
CoE Secretary-General Terry Davis visited Chisinau on November 9. He arrived in Chisinau to attend the opening of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).
On this occasion, Mr. Davis has met Moldovan officials including President Vladimir Voronin, Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan. The talks focussed on topics such as Moldova-CoE cooperation, reformation of democratic institutions, adjustment of national legislation to European standards, Transnistrian conflict, developments in the European integration and regional cooperation process.
According to Moldpres, President Voronin has assured Terry Davis that Moldova “is respecting exactly” the schedule of legislative actions, in order to honour its commitments towards CoE. According to independent observers, Moldova is behind with fulfilling this programme. In particular, it delays the adoption of new laws on status of the Chisinau municipality, consolidation of parliamentary immunity, Code of Education Laws. Also, competent authorities did not investigate the reasons of criminal cases filed against opposition leaders at national and local levels and did not condemn the principle of dismissing the Comrat mayor by the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia[1].
ECHR judgments
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has sentenced Moldova in another 7 cases in the period concerned, in particular, Musuc vs. Moldova; Stepuleac vs. Moldova; Banca VIAS vs. Moldova; Cebotari vs. Moldova; Dolneanu vs. Moldova; Becciu vs. Moldova, and Gusovschi vs. Moldova. It sentenced Moldova for violation of the rights to a fair trial, protection of property, trying of cases of plaintiffs in a reasonable term, appealing to the ECHR, and illegal detention of plaintiffs, improper detention conditions, and lack of guarantees during detention. Moldova will have to pay 350,433 Euros (approximately 5.78 million lei) in damages in the 7 cases.
The Strasbourg-based Court has sentenced Moldova in 98 cases until now[2]. It sentenced Moldova in 53 cases (54 percent) in 2007 only.
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