The Republic of Moldova today is not a priority in the so-called European club. A country that aspires to be part of the European Union in the future should work on its own as the doors remain open. This was stated by Eckart Stratenschulte, professor at the Free University of Berlin and board member of the National German Foundation, during a debate organized in Chisinau by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
Eckart Stratenschulte said there are two ways for a country to become a EU member: “Either you are nice and attractive and people want you on board, or you risk upsetting the balance if not accepted, so you are accepted in order to avoid this. In the particular case of Moldova, it doesn’t represent a threat, but it lacks the internal capacity to meet the requirements.”
He went on to clarify that there’s an interest for Moldova in the broader context of the eastern neighborhood: while the interest for Moldova itself is declining, there is solid interest focused on Ukraine and what is happening there.
The question, says Eckart Stratenschulte, is whether the European Union can support and reform Moldova. He suggests that the EU is in no position to reform a country from the outside. A country can be supported, the reformatory processes can be aided, the political forces that implement them can be helped, but the the reforms cannot be carried out by the EU.
The German scholar stated that the European Union can become reticent the moment it understands that a country has no interest in delivering reforms. He said that success and results should come from within, through reforms.
Igor Botan, of the Association for Participatory Democracy, told the same debate that Moldova has turned from a potential “success story” to a “horror story”. Its long-unfixed existential issues make Moldova remain a provincial country at the borders of the EU. He thinks this story serves as a bad example when compared to the consistent effort the EU has invested in our country; Moldova should stop acting like a brake for the EU efforts, and for this pressure needs to be exerted on the government, so that it, at the very least, shows more gratitude to the EU.
Dionis Cenușa, of the independent think-tank Expert-Grup, stated that unfortunately Moldova has been a success story not for the EU, but for the local oligarchs, as well as for the political forces from the neighbouring countries that look to employ the same instruments for public opinion manipulation in Bruxelles.
