The post-election crisis in Moldova is the latest test of the European Union’s capacity to promote stability and prosperity in a clutch of former Soviet republics situated between the EU’s eastern border and Russia, the Financial Times is quoted by Info-Prim Neo as writing. But the political disturbances in Moldova pose a rather different challenge for the EU. Although Russia exerts considerable influence over the country, the troubles on this occasion involve a state, Romania, that is a member not only of the 27-nation bloc but also of Nato. As a result, EU policymakers must tread a delicate path between their desire to assist Moldova, which is not in the European and transatlantic alliance systems but is in a worryingly unstable area of eastern Europe, and the necessity of showing support for Romania, a full partner and ally. This was illustrated by last week’s EU statement, in which the foreign ministers of France, the Czech Republic and Sweden – representing the EU’s past, present and future rotating presidencies – warned Moldova that closer ties with the EU, though desirable, needed to be “in accordance with European values and principles”. The EU is acting cautiously in the Moldovan crisis partly because it sets great store by a new policy initiative, known as the eastern partnership, that covers an area which includes Moldova and is due for its official launch at a summit in Prague next month. The plan foresees the gradual construction of a free trade area between the EU and the six, the relaxation of visa requirements for citizens of the six travelling to the EU, and the allocation of €600m. There is, however, no explicit or implicit promise of eventual EU membership for the six, and Mr Voronin himself recently dismissed the amount of aid on offer as mere “candy”. The Financial Times publishes another article titled “Moldova burdened with $1bn budget shortfall”. The British publications considers that “Moldova could face a severe financial crisis later this year, if it fails to cover a $1bn budget shortfall, creating the prospect of unpaid salaries and heightening the political tensions in the country following contested election results 10 days ago.” The country, already Europe’s poorest, with a gross domestic product per capita of just $1,800, is dependent on some $2bn a year in remittances from residents abroad, which amount to a third of the country’s GDP. Bleak conditions in Romania, Russia, Ukraine and southern Europe, where most of the Moldovan diaspora is to be found, mean remittances fell 28 per cent year on year in January, the Financial Times writes.