Foreign Affairs on February 15–28, 2010

European integration

The 12th meeting of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee

The 12th meeting of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, in its new composition, was held in Chisinau on 16–17 February, 2010^[1]. Participants considered the latest political, economical and social developments in the Republic of Moldova, including regarding the Transnistrian problem and regional cooperation. Monica Macovei who is a Moldova’s supporter in the European Parliament, during her meeting with Moldovan prime-minister Vlad Filat and interim president, Mihai Ghimpu, mentioned that the EU wants to export reforms, stability, and rule of law to Moldova, and the European institutions, especially the European Parliament, will provide the necessary support to meet these goals. Moldova’s delegation underlined that Moldova’s immediate priorities in its relations with the EU are: the urgent negotiation of an Association Agreement, the launch of talks on the establishment of a free trade zone between Moldova and the EU in July 2010 and the liberalization of the visa regime.

During the meeting was signed a four-chapter document, that envisages a string of recommendations and priorities that Moldova needs to fulfill in the European integration process, such as the continuation of domestic reforms, especially of the judicial system.

Danube summit

The second Danube Summit was held in Budapest on February 25–26, 2010 with participation of government’s representatives from Danube states (EU states — Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary, and non-EU state — Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine). The summit ended with the adoption of a statement on the importance, objectives and key-elements of the future Danube Region Strategy. Moldova was represented by prime-minister Vlad Filat who met also Romanian prim-minister Emil Boc and the leader of the Hungarian party FIDESZ, Viktor Orban. Vlad Filat concluded that the Danube Region Strategy represents for Moldova a new platform for regional cooperation and consolidation of relations with the EU.

Note by ADEPT: Being a project initiated and promoted by Austria and Romania, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, similarly to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region launched in 2009, is aimed to turn to account and develop the economic potential of Danube and to improve the social and environment conditions in the Danube region. The Strategy will focus on three big policy areas: transportation and communication (river navigation, energy security and telecommunications), environmental protection and water management, and social-economic development (culture, education, tourism, rural development). Because there are not special funds allotted for trans-border projects within the Danube Strategy, the financial instruments and mechanism for implementation of trans-border projects are still not clear. The challenge is high as the Strategy implies to cover all the EU states, candidate states and non-EU states.

Bilateral cooperation

Republic of Moldova — Romania

The Moldovan-Romanian relations were marked by two events: the inauguration of the Radauti — Lipcani Bridge and the ratification of the Small Border Traffic Agreement. The Radauti — Lipcani Bridge, being the 10^th crossing point of the Romanian-Moldovan border, was inaugurated on the 15^th of February with participation of the Moldovan prime-minister Vlad Filat and the Romanian Minister of Administration and Domestic Affairs, Vasile Blaga. The new custom checkpoint will contribute to the economical development of the Briceni county and intensification of the economic exchanges in the region of Cernauti.

The Small Border Traffic Agreement between Romania and the Republic of Moldova entered into force on February, 26. According to the agreement, the residents of Moldova who live at least one year in a place situated up to 50 km from the border will have the right to move on the basis of the border traffic permits. About one million Moldovan citizens from 363 border localities will have the opportunity to be issued a border traffic permit. The consular section of the Romanian Embassy will issue permits in 60 days from the day the citizen submits the request, the permit being valid for 2 years. Until Romania will join the Schengen zone, the border traffic permits will be issued free of charge. Later the price will be established with the agreement of the European Commission.

The installation of elements of the anti-missile shield on the Romanian territory starting with 2015 is a new topic on the Romanian-Moldovan Foreign Policy agenda. Information about the installation of the anti-missile shield in Romania provoked negative reactions within the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova and the Democratic Party of Moldova. The leaders of these parties consider that this decision of Romania represents a danger for the regional security and will affect the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. As a result, Romanian-Moldovan political consultations between the directors of the Foreign Policy Ministries were held on February 18 in Chisinau. According to a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, during the discussions the Romanian party emphasized that the decision to participate in the anti-missile shield relates to the national security of Romania and NATO’s collective security. At the same time the elements to be installed in Romania will cover the territory of Romania and other allied countries in the region, as well as the countries which are not allied, such as Moldova, and will reduce the security risks in the entire region.

Republic of Moldova — Ukraine

The upturn in Moldovan-Ukrainian relations, as well as the progress in solving the “frozen” issues within the bilateral relations has continued. The issues have been discussed within the inter-ministerial consultations between the foreign affairs deputy ministers of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, held on February 22–23 in Chisinau. The agenda included subjects related to the continuation of the state border demarcation procedure; the spurring of recognition of Moldova’s property on the Ukrainian territory; development of economic relations and capitalization on the potential for bilateral cooperation.

Republic of Moldova — Poland

Prime-minister Vlad Filat paid a working visit to Poland on February 18, where met the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, the Polish prime-minister, Donald Tusk, Polish Seim Marshal Bogdan Borusewicz and other high-level officials.

The following documents were signed during the visit: 1) Credit Agreement worth of USD 15 million (term — 1 year with possibility to extend it twice; annual interest rate — 2.8%; destination — budgetary support) offered to Moldova by Poland; 2) Memorandum on regional development between Moldova and Poland. The Moldovan and Polish prime-ministers adopted also a Joint Declaration on cooperation in the field of European integration, by which the parties agreed to consolidate the existent mechanism of the Moldovan-Polish European integration Forum, to strengthen the bilateral cooperation for trade and investment within the Moldovan-Polish Commission for economic and trade cooperation, while Poland proposed to share its experience on European integration with Moldova. This visit has re-affirmed the role of Poland as one of the main supporters of Moldova on its European integration.

↑ The EU-Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee consists of 28 permanent members, by 14 for each party, and of 24 proxy members, by 12 members for each party, accordingly. The Committee’s c-chairs are Igor Corman, Chairman of the Moldova’s parliamentary Commission for foreign policy and European integration and Monica Macovei, the Romanian MEP.

e-democracy.md