Representatives of ministries, military and civilian experts, officials of embassies working in Chisinau, who are all graduates of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies - discussed aspects of the Euro-Atlantic cooperation and Moldova's role in this process and signed partnership agreements with similar associations from Romania and Ukraine at the fifth roundtable meeting “Security through Cooperation” held by the George C. Marshall Association of Moldova on Tuesday, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the Deputy Minister of Defense Igor Malai, the issue of Euro-Atlantic cooperation is topical as the dangers threatening national security are better camouflaged and it becomes harder removing them. “Besides the traditional dangers such a terrorism and global warming, this year the international community also faced a financial and economic crisis. The current globalization trends produce changes in the mentality of the ordinary people and at national level. The economic, social and political processes cannot be treated separately as they imply cooperation. Moldova's security has an impact on the other Southeastern European states. When we speak about security, we mean economic as well as ecological and social security,” Malai said. Dragan Lozanici, a representative of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, stressed that the internal security and the Euro-Atlantic cooperation are closely connected as no security can exist without integration. He said that it is more complicated to join the EU than NATO as there are more rules and accession stages, but some of the states could easier join the EU after joining NATO. “The EU wants to continue the partnership with Moldova, but will not make promises as regards a possible accession,” the European expert said. Speaking about the EU's and NATO's capacity to influence the resolution of the Transnistria conflict, he reminded about the major role played by the two organizations in solving other conflicts in Southeastern Europe, but stressed that the national players also play an important part. Andrei Covrig, the head of the George C. Marshall Association of Moldova, said that relationships must be established with the graduates of the George C. Marshall Center from the neighboring states as the authorities sometimes cannot deal with the problems faced by the embassies. According to him, there are many problems that must be solved, including the democratic control of the law enforcement bodies and the military-civil relations. “We must learn from the experience of those who solved national security problems with the help of the George C. Marshall Center,” Covrig said. The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies promotes dialogue and understanding among the nations of North America, Europe, Eurasia and beyond. Supported bilaterally by the governments of the United States and Germany, the Marshall Center boasts an international faculty and staff with representatives from 10 partner nations.