The invetsigation of the banking fraud committed seeveral years ago is the main test for assessing the implmentation of reforms related to the fight against corruption and improvement of justice in the Republic of Moldova. Political will is yet needed to do these reforms, the Head of the EU Delegation in Chisinau Peter Michalko stated in an interview for IPN News Agency, which centered on the results of the implementation of the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement in 2017.

“In 2017 too, we expected to see the progress made in fighting corruption. This continuous effort is important as corruption is the source of a number of negative phenomena and it is against the just character of society. For its part, the just character of society and the equality of people before the law are among the biggest problems of Moldovans and of those who would like to invest, but cannot for these causes. During the past year, a lot has been done to build and support the anticorruption institutions. We now speak about their efficiency and functioning in the proper way as corruption should be rooted out at all levels, not only at the lowest ones. Will is needed in this regard, including political one, and the way in which the banking fraud committed in Moldova is now investigated is, I think, the main test and we expect that those who are to blame will be held accountable and the resources that can be yet found will be recovered,” noted the diplomat.

According to Peter Michalko, the restoration of trust in the financial-banking and economic sectors of the Republic of Moldova is another important thing in a broader meaning. “A state should be able to efficiently investigate corruption and should build a society where this is not welcomed and should be rooted out. The idea is also stated in the European Commission’s report of December 2017 on the fulfillment of the plan of action in the area of visa liberalization, which says it clearly that immediate steps should be taken to fight corruption and other steps should be taken to fight money laundering. And this is one of the conditions imposed by the EU for providing macro-financial assistance. So, the whole system of reforms is related to these steps, but the final goal is to eliminate corruption from society,” he stated.

The EU Ambassador Peter Michalko also said that the efforts to promote and implement reforms in the areas related to the Association Agreement, including the key ones, such as the respect for the democratic system, human rights and fundamental freedoms, continued last year. “But I already said that, within our honest and open dialogue, which should be between friends, we had to also take such measures as the stopping of budget support in the justice sector for the previous years, owing to the lack of reforms on which we agreed earlier, but which, regrettably, didn’t take place. In general, we saw efforts, but a lot is yet to be done to ensure reforms in a number of areas,” he concluded.