“We are now practically at halfway in the association process with the European Union. Moldova quickly made progress after this process started on January 12. Meanwhile, we had four successful rounds of talks. The next round will take place in Brussels on January 13,” said ad-interim Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman, who was Moldova’s chief negotiator at the Forum of Konrad Adenauer Foundation held in Chisinau. The Forum focused on the accomplishments and challenges faced by Moldova while negotiating the Association Agreement with the EU, Info-Prim Neo reports. “During the four rounds of talks, we made essential progress in negotiating chapter I, which deals with the political dialogue and cooperation in foreign and security policy. We practically finalized all the articles, except the one concerning European security. We preliminarily negotiated chapter II, which centers on cooperation in the legal system and internal affairs. It is very large and complex. We have not yet solved the mobility problems included in it. The third chapter refers to economic and sector cooperation with the EU. We are at a crucial stage of preparations for the talks on the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement. We hope they will be opened at the start of next year. For Moldova, this is the only way to make progress in ensuring sustainable economic growth. The fourth chapter focuses on the contacts between people, humanitarian cooperation, civil society, broadcasting, education, culture, science and other fields. We successfully completed the preliminary negotiations on it,” the minister said. According to Nataliei Gherman, in its October 21 resolution, the EU Parliament stressed the importance of the reforms aimed at making progress in the European integration process, which are promoted in Moldova. The resolution was followed by the Conclusions of the European Council on Foreign Relations adopted on October 25, which confirmed that Moldova is ready to pass to the next stage in a number of areas, including the visa regime. “All the members of the EU consider Moldova a friend and this fact is very encouraging for us,” Natalia Gherman said, referring to the meeting of the EU Group for the European Action of Moldova held in Chisinau on September 30. Deputy Minister of Justice Oleg Efrim said the chapter on justice, freedom and security is a key one for the future Association Agreement. “It is too early to speak about significant successes in this area, but the fact that torture is currently not used in prisons, we do not have problems as regards the freedom of association, the Ministry of Justice stopped being a gendarme for the parties and public associations, we are no more monitored by the Council of Europe as regards the freedom of religion, and the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in a very short period of time confirm the Government’s intentions and attitude towards human rights. The Rome Statute was signed by the Government of Moldova ten years ago. The present administration did not need much time to ratify it so that Moldova fulfilled its international obligations,” said Oleg Efrim. “The history of our relations is short. We consider Moldova young and independent and the experience exchange between Moldova and the EU is one of the best indicators showing this,” said Dirk Schuebel, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova. “Five EU Commissioners have visited Moldova since I’ve been here, from November 1, 2009. Only four EU Commissioners visited Moldova in the period between the proclamation of independence and my arrival. This shows that the relations with Moldova have intensified. Also, the Moldovan Prime Minister paid five visits to Brussels and many MEPs and other officials came to Moldova. These visits were very important for Moldova. “I had a meeting with all the donors supporting Moldova and I’m very proud that Moldova is the largest recipient of European funds after Palestine. Palestine is a separate case, but Moldova is a country covered by the Neighborhood Pact and is the largest recipient of European assistance per capita,” said Dirk Schuebel. The Head of the EU Delegation mentioned a number of challenges that represent critical points and concerns for the next weeks, months. He said that corruption is not a problem typical of Moldova, but it should be tackled more intensely. “The reform of the local and central public administrations is another area that should considerably improve the situation on the whole. The reform of the legal system must also be deepened in this connection. The state budget must be strengthened through the funds that will come from the EU and comprehensive reforms should be carried out in the field. I think the investment climate needs considerable improvements and this is an area where Moldova can help itself by facilitating the coming of foreign investors and the launch of businesses in a debureaucratized way, or creating business centers. There are EU states that have experience in the field and can help you. I hope that we will be able to continue this intense cooperation after the forthcoming elections and we will be able to build on the previous success,” said the European official.