Foreign Affairs on December 17–30, 2007

European integration

EUMAP

According to Moldpres, President Voronin has promised at a news conference summing up the year 2007 that “Moldova will not be behind with implementing the Moldova-European Union Action Plan (EUMAP) and it will not extend the implementation term of this document after the February 2008 deadline.” The conviction that Moldova will not be defaulted reveals much optimism, while the decision not to extend the EUMAP implementation term signals a lack of information.

On the first day of President Voronin’s visit to Brussels, on December 5, the European Commission released a new communication recommending the roll-over of the EUMAP with one year. Although at a level of proposal, the Commission initiative is credited with great chances to be accepted by the Council, in particular because the Commission has wide discretionary competences in the European Neighbourhood Policy area. In addition, the Commission initiative could not be part of the Communication if not consulted with the Council or EP committees. The president should be notified over this recommendation of the Commission within two weeks, from December 5 to 19.

TWINNING project

In 2008 Moldova will benefit by an EU TWINNING project aimed at sharing the experience of the French and Hungarian Parliaments with the Moldovan legislature. The inter-institutional cooperation project will assist the Moldovan Parliament in four basic areas: harmonisation of the national legislation with European standards, consolidation of the parliamentary control, introduction of the procedure of assessing the impact of legislation, and optimisation of the structure and competences of the Parliament Apparatus.

Bilateral cooperation

Republic of Moldova — Romania

Moldovan authorities have continued criticising Romania in the period concerned. President Vladimir Voronin has told a news conference summing up the year 2007 that by turning down the basic and border treaties, Romania does not recognise Moldova’s sovereignty. Further, the Moldovan president stated that the “Moldovan-Romanian case is being studied by the EU, as this is now the problem of the Romania-EU relations rather than of the Moldova-Romania relations.” But President Voronin did not explain why he calls the case as “Moldovan-Romanian” if it rests with Romania’s problem with the EU.

Secondly, the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MFAEI) has described as unfriendly the gesture of Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu, who did not request a meeting with official Moldovan authorities while on a visit to Chisinau on December 21, on occasion of the opening of the new headquarters of the Romanian Consulate. His gesture, the MFAEI continued, will not help improving the bilateral relations between Moldova and Romania.

On the other hand, no Moldovan official attended the opening of the new headquarters of the Romanian Consulate in Chisinau, though the Romanian Embassy has sent invitations. It means that the claim of the MFAEI carries a dose of hypocrisy.

In his turn, Adrian Cioroianu told journalists on December 21 that he would like to meet his Moldovan counterpart Andrei Stratan. If so, why his majesty did not demand a meeting with the Moldovan foreign minister in order to “break down the wall of suspicion and non-confidence which has been built” between the two states? A simple formality would not give room to the MFAEI to blame its absence.

In spite of present tensions in the Moldovan-Romanian relations, Cioroianu assured that Romania is interested in continuation to simplify the access of Moldovan youths to the Romanian and EU labour market and to give an opportunity to those interested to study in Romania.

While Cioroianu said that Romania awards priority to development of bilateral relations with Moldova as a subject of the international law, with respect for its sovereignty, independence and integrity, statements delivered by Romanian President Traian Basescu during a TV programme left room for equivocal interpretations. Replying to accusations brought by Chisinau authorities against Romania, he told some important things: the aggressiveness of Moldovan authorities will not halt Romania to be close in continuation to the “Romanian people from the other side of the Proute”; Moldovan citizens who are not Romanian ethnics inclusively should also be awarded the Romanian citizenship, as they are citizens of Moldova “in a sea of Romanians”; the communism did not succeed anywhere, nor it will succeed in Moldova; Moldovans “are victims of an injustice of the history” committed through the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact.

Some statements by Romania’s president will be probably invoked as evidence that Romania has a revisionist vision and it wants to recover Bessarabia, and this will be the origin of new “bridgeheads” for further accusations against Romania. The increasing race of statements will hit common Moldovan citizens the most, particularly those self-identifying as Romanians. It means those whom Bucharest reassures that it will continue supporting them.

Multilateral cooperation

Republic of Moldova — Council of Europe

Speaker Marian Lupu has stated at the end of the autumn-winter 2007 session of the Parliament that the schedule of legal actions assumed in compliance with commitments by Council of Europe member states has been honoured. But independent experts fear that Moldova is still behind with implementing this programme. In particular, they signal the failure to adopt new laws on status of the Chisinau municipality, consolidation of the parliamentary immunity and the education laws code. Also, the Parliament did not investigate so far the reasons of criminal cases filed against opposition leaders at national and local levels and it did not “condemn” the principle of dismissal of the Comrat mayor by the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia^[1].

↑ PD #284-XVI from 11.11.2005, Monitorul Oficial, issue 157–160/788 from 25.11.2005

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