The Republic of Moldova has only one option and this is the orientation to integration into the European Union, which is a healthy option for the country, the director of the Institute for Public Policy Arcadie Barbăroșie stated in a public debate hosted by IPN.

He noted that the Republic of Moldova cannot orient itself both to the east and to the west. From economic viewpoint, this would imply enormous costs primarily in the form of customs duties.

“We surely cannot stay isolated. We are a very small economy compared with the European Union. If we oscillate between the west and the east, we will have to pay customs duties in both directions. But what we will pay these customs duties from?” wondered Arcadie Barbăroșie. He noted that the Moldova economy does not focus only on internal objectives and is oriented to exports. If the Republic of Moldova integrates into the EU, it will benefit from considerable economic opportunities.

He noted that choosing an eastern offer is now out of the question. “From political viewpoint, Russia does not have what to offer to the citizens as there is no freedom in Russia now. There is the freedom to be brought and conscripted into the army, but not the freedom that the citizens would assume and about which they would talk.  In Russia, regrettably, there are no basic human freedoms in general, like the freedom to criticize, the freedom to protest, the freedom to look around and analyze things. These were all destroyed in Russia. Putin, regrettably, managed to gather around him persons who annihilate this system of freedoms,” stated Arcadie Barbăroșie.

The expert considers there are yet in the Republic of Moldova particular processes that are influenced from outside, but it is up to each citizen to discern who and what objectives pursues.

“We surely have characters who try to influence from outside the developments in the Republic of Moldova. There is Shor who must stay in jail, Plahotniuc who is wanted and other citizens who direct political processes here from abroad. But we understand that what they control must be controlled also by the citizens,” noted Arcadie Barbăroșie.

The public debate entitled “Moldova at a crossroads: EU and its alternative?” was the 283rd installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.