“There are no doubts that Moldova is a European country and a leader in the Eastern Partnership. I believe in the European future of Moldova. This option is a long and continuous travel and is not a project of one person or one party. It must be a project of the whole nation,” President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said in a press beefing in Chisinau, IPN reports.
The European official underlined that the European Union has a great market that will provide workplace and possibilities of developing Moldova’s economy as well as important instruments of financial assistance. “When Moldova sets an objective, this objective must become a reality. The reforms are more important than the political parties. Moldova is not alone in these efforts. We offer you support. I know that the reforms are difficult, but there is no reason to postpone them. I’m sure that the Moldovan citizens do not want corruption. They want an independent judiciary system. So, these are Moldova’s interests even if we formulated them as preconditions for further developing our relations,” said Jose Manuel Barroso.
He underlined that the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU will not affect Moldova’s economic relations with Russia. “This is categorically not our intention. I know that there were particular contacts between the Moldovan and Russian authorities, aimed at explaining this thing. The commercial relations must be regarded as s game with mutual gain. We must separate the commercial relations from certain negative considerations. The Association Agreement with the EU is a positive mechanism designed to increase the value of the international relations established by Moldova, not to complement or influence Moldova’s relations with any other partner state, especially Russia,” stated the European official.
According to him, independent studies show that owing to the Association Agreement, Moldova’s exports will rise by 16%, while the GDP will grow by 5.5% on an average term. The Moldovan citizens will be able to found companies and to register brand names and will have free access to the EU market. The small companies will be able to export directly to the EU, without paying taxes.
Jose Manuel Barroso noted that the provisions of the accord are perfectly compatible with the Agreement on the Free Trade Area within the CIS. “I call on Russia to focus on the advantages of the new opportunities and not to take punitive measures before the signing and the subsequent implementation of the Association Agreement. Such behavior is justified neither from economic nor legal viewpoint. We are ready to continue the bilateral consultations with Russia in this respect,” he said.
Jose Manuel Barroso is paying a two-day visit to Chisinau, accompanied by European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule.
