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Foreign Affairs on November 16–30, 2009

European integration

Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EP CSF)

About 240 civil society representatives from the six beneficiaries of the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), as well as from the EU member states, international organisations, representatives of European institutions etc. attended the first Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in Brussels on November 16–17. The forum aims to facilitate dialogue and cooperation between civil society representatives and governments in the six partner countries of the Eastern Partnership and the EU member states with European institutions, with the view to reach a complete achievement of the Eastern Partnership’s economic and social development and good governance objectives of the countries concerned. Taking part in the forum on behalf of Moldova were 20 civil society representatives, with two of them, Natalia Cojohari (from CNTM) and Sorin Mereacre (from Eurasia Moldova Foundation), being elected to the EPSCF Steering Committee. The forum engaged in discussions within the four thematic platforms working on:

Recommendations will be tabled to foreign ministers from Eastern Partnership partner countries who will meet in Brussels on December 8. The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum will meet annually to advise and monitor the Eastern Partnership activity, and the EP SCF Steering Committee will be in charge with the current operation between meetings.

Visit of European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy to Chisinau

Mrs. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, was on a working visit to Chisinau on November 26–27. While on visit, Benita Ferrero-Waldner met acting President and Parliament Speaker Mihai Ghimpu; Prime Minister Vlad Filat; Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leanca; presidential candidate Marian Lupu; members of the opposition and civil society representatives. During meetings with Moldovan officials and parliamentarians, the European commissioner delivered a supporting messageRO to the Republic of Moldova on behalf of the European Union, stressing the EU interest to accelerate the development of relations with Moldova, by using at maximum the opportunities provided by the European Partnership. According to the European commissioner, the first priority is the negotiation of a new agreement, which should include among others the aim of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Moldova and the EU. If Moldova demonstrates that it is willing and able to comply with the commitments arising out of the negotiations, the EU will propose to name this new legal basis for their relations an ‘Association Agreement. The liberalisation of visa requirements for Moldovans is a long-term goal, but the beginning of negotiations on this issue will be discussed at the next sitting of the EU-Moldova Cooperation Council on December 21.

As well, Benita Ferrero-Waldner expressed the EU readiness to provide the technical and financial assistance needed by Moldova to strengthen democratic reforms and redress consequences of economic crisis. The EU will initially provide a democracy support package worth 4 million Euros for parliamentary cooperation and a budgetary support package worth 26 million Euros. Moldova will further enjoy a macro-financial assistance package in addition to the credit to the future IMF agreement.

As well, the European commissioner reiterated that bringing Moldova closer to the EU and even providing a European prospect will depend on country’s capacity to implement reforms and respect commitments towards EU.

Meeting of the EU-Moldova COPS Troika

Brussels hosted the meeting of the EU-Moldova COPS (Political and Security Committee) Troika on November 25. The Moldovan delegation was led by Natalia Gherman, deputy minister of foreign affairs and European integration. The meeting agenda included issues relating to latest political and economic developments in Moldova, EU-Moldova dialogue, Transnistrian settlement process and cooperation with EUBAM. The Moldovan delegation explained the short-term goals of Moldova-EU relations: negotiation of a new Moldova-EU agreement under the shape of an Association Agreement, which would address the consolidated approaching to the EU by re-dimensioning of political dialogue, establishing of a free trade area, extending sectoral cooperation and subordinating contacts in the area of rule of law and interior affairs to the visa liberalisation objective.

2nd High-Level Meeting of Mobility Partnership

The 2nd High-Level Meeting of Mobility Partnership took place in Brussels on November 23.The key goal of the meeting was to assess results achieved during the first year of implementation of the Mobility Partnership signed on June 5, 2008. The Moldovan delegation was led by Natalia Gherman, deputy minister of foreign affairs and European integration. Among the results mentioned were the projects to strengthen capacities of national authorities to implement the best European practices and standards on migration and asylum, development of projects to encourage the comeback and reintegrate migrant workers into the national labour market, as well as development of domestic labour market and strengthening of relations with Moldovan communities, and achievements relating to border management and security of documents. The European Commission welcomed the determination of Moldovan authorities to seize the opportunities provided by the Mobility Partnership to complete and support Government’s efforts to liberalise the visa regime.

As well, the meeting identified new directions for the immediate period in the framework of the Partnership: reducing consequences of migration in healthcare sector, building a migration profile and using it to draft national policies, new initiatives of EU member states within the European Commission’s Thematic Programme on circular migration, combating trafficking in human beings, consolidating Moldovan communities abroad and establishing cooperation with origin country. (According to Moldpres)

Bilateral cooperation

Republic of Moldova — Romania

According to statements delivered by Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leanca at the news conferenceRO on November 26, 2009, Moldova’s relations with Romania have been thawed. The visit of Prime Minister Vlad Filat to Bucharest on November 14 and the signing of the three bilateral agreements come to confirm the minister’s statements. In addition, unlike former Chisinau authorities, the acting Government has given green light to the opening in the Republic of Moldova of 13 polling stations for Romanian presidential elections, and the Moldovan Government approved the Small Border Traffic Agreement between Governments of Moldova and Romania on November 18. The Romanian side gives positive signals as well. The Romanian Government decided at the November 25 sitting to table a legislative initiative to the Romanian Parliament aimed to provide a 100-million-leu irredeemable financial assistance to Moldova and a free emergency assistance of 4,000,000 doses of pandemic vaccines.

Note by ADEPT: Romanian press have intensively alleged that some actions of the Bucharest authorities over Moldova (e. g. modification of the law on citizenship by facilitating the citizenship awarding procedure for Moldovan citizens) have rather an electoral nature and are not part of a development programme on bilateral relations, the doubling this year of consular fee for Moldovan citizens willing to get Romanian stay permits being a proof in this respect.

Republic of Moldova — Russia

The Moldovan authorities continued efforts to “normalise” relations with the Russian Federation in the period concerned. The meeting between Russian and Moldovan prime ministers which took place in Yalta on November 20, as part of the Council of CIS Heads of Government made clear existing problems in bilateral relations such as relating to Moldovan exports to Russia, staying of Moldovan emigrants in the Russian Federation, supply of Russian natural gas. As well, the sides discussed matters relating to the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict in the 5+2 format and the 150-million-dollar Russian credit. According to Prime Minister Filat, the final decision on the Russian credit will be made after technical negotiations. Following the talks in Yalta, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Valeriu Cosarciuc was on a working visit to Moscow on November 26 and considered with the head of the Russian sanitary inspection “Rospotrebnadzor”, Gennady Onishchenko, issues related to removal of barriers on way of Moldovan agricultural exports to Russia. It was decided after the talks to open 6 more customs terminals for supply of Moldovan products to Russia (the first two will open in Briansk and Sankt Petersburg) and allowing another 45 enterprises in addition to the 36 existing businesses to export wines to Russia. Instead, the latter will be lifted from discriminatory monitoring regime. Another result of the Yalta discussions was consular consultations between Foreign Ministries of Moldova and Russia in Chisinau on November 26. According to a MFAEI press release, the agenda of consultations included issues related to enforcement of consular treaties and conventions, but a special attention was paid to the staying of Moldovan citizens in the Russian Federation, repatriation of unaccompanied children, fight against illegal migration and trafficking in human beings. After the talks the Russian side expressed readiness to consider the possibility to free Moldovan citizens from obligation to get registered in the Russian Federation if they stay no longer than 90 days, as well as to start negotiation of a draft agreement on cooperation in the area of repatriation of victims of trafficking in human beings, trafficking in children, illegal trafficking of migrants, unaccompanied children and migrants in need.

Republic of Moldova — Ukraine

The Republic of Moldova continued its efforts in reviving the relations with Ukraine and in overcoming the existing problems in bilateral relations, through high-level meetings; a meeting between the Moldovan and Ukrainian prime ministers in Yalta within the Council of CIS Heads of Government and Moldovan-Ukrainian inter-ministerial consultations at the level of Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Kiev. According to a government press release issued after the meeting in Yalta, the Moldovan Prime-Minister, Vlad Filat and the Ukranian Prime-Minister Yiulia Tymoshenko agreed on reducing transit taxes on Moldovan alcoholic beverages for passing through Ukrainian territory, and on ensuring the free movement of Moldovan citizens within the territory of Ukraine, by cancelling the obligation imposed by Ukraine on Moldovan citizens to hold Euro 1100 when crossing border. Subsequently, on November 30, Andrei Popov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, participated in Moldovan-Ukrainian consultations that tried to find compromise formulas to a series of bilateral issues: the border demarcation (including the case of Palanca), issues related the Moldovan property on Ukrainian territory, environmental cooperation in the Dniester River Basin, resuming the activity of the Intergovernmental Commission on trade and economic cooperation, the definitive cancellation of financial guarantees for Moldovan citizens crossing Ukrainian territory. It also focussed on issues of the EU-Moldova- Ukraine trilateral cooperation, including within the Eastern Partnership.

Republic of Moldova — Italy

The deputy prime minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leanca was on a working visit to Rome on November 24 and met there Italian officials and representatives of the Moldovan community in Italy. Following a bilateral meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, the latter assured that Italy is ready to play “a crucial role” in promoting the European path of the Republic of Moldova, especially in negotiating a visa liberalisation agreement. According to a Moldpres press release, Franco Frattini highly appreciated the cooperation of Moldovan communities from Italy, saying that the Italian side will begin preparations to negotiate an agreement on social protection of Moldovan nationals from Italy with the Chisinau authorities. With the view to deepen and diversify commercial-economic cooperation between Moldova and Italy, a Moldovan-Italian business forum will be shortly organised in Chisinau.

Multilateral cooperation

Republic of Moldova — Council of Europe
ECHR Decisions

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has pronounced decisions on the following applications in the period concerned: Flux vs. Moldova (No. 7) and Ipteh SA and Others vs. Moldova. In the first case the Court established violation of the freedom of expression and awarded 12.25 Euros (state tax) to the applicant in pecuniary damages, 3,000 Euros in non-pecuniary damages and 1,800 Euros in costs and expenses. As for the second application, the Court established violation of the right to a fair trial and right to property and is due to set the modality and size of damages at a next sitting.

Republic of Moldova — CIS

Yalta hosted the meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States on November 20. The meeting agenda included 26 issues, particularly economic matters, of them most important were cooperation of CIS member states against consequences of the financial-economic crisis, optimisation of cooperation in energy sector, development of transport corridors in the region, development of cooperation in innovation area, etc. Vlad Filat told a news conference after the meeting that Moldova will fulfil all commitments within CIS and stressed the importance of commercial-economic cooperation within this organisation. The Russian Federation will take over the CIS Presidency on January 1, 2010 and the next Summit of the CIS Heads of Government is set for May 21, 2010 in Moscow.

November 1–15, 2009 December 1–15, 2009