Major political and economic reforms require determined action, consolidation of the main political forces, and close involvement of civil society, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius says in an article entitled “How to fix Moldova”, which was published on euobserver.com, being quoted by IPN.
According to the official, this is the lesson that Lithuania learned in the course of its successful reform process in the 1990s. Strong support from international partners was another key factor in Lithuania’s success. Today, Moldova urgently needs both a consensus on main reform priorities at home and strong, but conditional support from the EU. The new government, led by Pavel Filip, faces an enormous task: society is divided, the public has little confidence in the government due to massive corruption, and the country will very soon face difficulties in paying pensions and salaries.
European forces (even the European idea itself) have been compromised by so-called pro-European politicians, who seem unable or unwilling to fight corruption. A billion US dollars stolen from Moldovan banks and the somewhat vague investigation of the case that followed were the last straw. Deeply rooted impunity and a lack of accountability have prompted the public to search for saviors. Some of these saviors portray themselves as being “pro-Moldovan“ but, sadly, align themselves with Russia, a country that continues to occupy a part of Moldova’s territory and recently attacked Ukraine. Russia’s troops in Transnistria are there in breach of international law.
An intense information campaign, aimed at undermining Moldova’s pro-European choice, also makes the current government’s task harder. The protesters in Moldova keep demanding early elections despite warnings by a number of experts, who say that such elections could push the country into even deeper political and economic uncertainty. A temporary government would basically have no opportunity to negotiate new loans, which the country urgently requires.
First of all, Moldova needs genuine political stability based on the consolidation of major political forces determined and willing to implement the reforms that people demand. The new government’s initiative, to start a dialogue with protest leaders, is a step in the right direction. Secondly, Moldova needs vigorous reforms leading to tangible results. Europe will not tolerate corruption or support the self-proclaimed “European forces” unless they walk the walk. Reforms must be the new government’s calling card, or it will lose what little support it has among its own people, as well as that of international partners.
The achievements of previous governments were important. Moldova was considered as a frontrunner among the EU’s eastern partners. The EU must not hesitate to act, to try to stop Moldova from sliding into deeper economic and political crisis. But EU support depends on Moldova’s performance in rooting out corruption.
