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Foreign Affairs on March 1–15, 2008

European integration

Presidency-hosted meeting discusses prospects of Moldova-E.U. relationship

The Presidency convoked on March 6 a meeting on prospects of Moldova’s relationship with the European Union (E.U.). Given the fact that the European Commission will assess in April 2008 the way Moldova has implemented the E.U.-Moldova Action Plan (EUMAP), the meeting established a series of tasks that shall be fulfilled before the EC report. In addition, competent authorities were instructed to elaborate and implement an “internal action plan” to clearly indicate concrete objectives and terms for public institutions with the view to continue the reformation process in a number of areas. The presidential press service did not indicate any term for the elaboration of this “internal action plan,” but it could coincide with the period for which the European Commission has recommended the EUMAP extension.

E.U.-Moldova Mobility Partnership

The first formal E.U.-Moldova meeting on Mobility Partnership has been held in the period concerned. It brought together functionaries of E.U. institutions, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Valeriu Ostalep and Deputy Interior Minister Sergiu Golovaci led the Moldovan delegation. The meeting tackled issues such as consolidation of institutional capacities in migration management area, programmes on comeback and reintegration of migrants, ensuring of social benefits, strengthening of ties with Diaspora, etc.

On occasion of the meeting, Mr. Ostalep has met Hilde Hardeman, head of unit at the European Commission’s External Relations Directorate-General. The meeting focussed on results of the Presidency-hosted sitting on EUMAP implementation and details related to organisation of the next meeting of the E.U.-Moldova Cooperation Council in Brussels on May 27, 2008.

9th Meeting of EUBAM Advisory Board

The 9th Meeting of the Advisory Board of the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) to Moldova and Ukraine was organised in the period concerned. It noted that the Moldova-Ukraine border management and cooperation between Moldovan and Ukrainian customs and border guard services have improved.

As regards perspective tasks, it was noted the need of joint efforts to facilitate the legalisation of Transnistria-based enterprises, to adjust the border management legislation to European norms and to consolidate operative information exchange mechanisms between competent services of Moldova and Ukraine.

Bilateral cooperation

Republic of Moldova — Romania

According to Romanian press reports, the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament has adopted a draft in the period covered by this issue of e-journal, which modifies the law on Romanian citizenship[1]. The amendments aim to simplify the examination of applications for Romanian citizenship.

The draft introduces the following innovations:

These amendments are argued by the big number of applications which are being settled by the commission for contestation of citizenship awarding norms (more than 34,000) and applications for awarding or regaining of the Romanian citizenship (more than 500,000 applications have been submitted to the Romanian Consulate in Chisinau only).

Republic of Moldova — Russia

Relations with Russia continued to be subscribed to latest intense Transnistrian settlement talks. Yuri Zubakov, deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, visited Chisinau on March 6. According to official press services, his visit to Moldova aimed to facilitate the resumption of the “Five-Plus-Two” political negotiations on the Transnistrian conflict. As usually, press services did not report issues discussed at a meeting between Zubakov and Vladimir Voronin.

Elsewhere, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration said that it will submit an official interpellation to competent Russian bodies regarding the case of Natalia Morari, a citizen of Moldova and reporter of the Russian newspaper The New Times, who was restricted access to the Russian Federation. Morari was accused of endangering the national security and the security of the Russian Federation. However, the journalist claims that this restriction is related to her professional service and one of her articles published in The New Times, in which she revealed informal financing schemes of the December 2007 electoral campaign for the Russian State Duma.

  1. ↑ Adevarul, issue 5492, 11 March 2008.
February 16–29, 2008 March 16–31, 2008