One year of the start of the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU, the Moldovan authorities say there were achieved successes and witnessed also failures. Some of the failures were determined by the political instability, while others cannot be justified. In a news conference on September 4, Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet and Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman summed up the results obtained during the first year of implementation of the accord, noting that despite the instability and challenges faced by the country, important steps were taken towards putting this agreement into practice, IPN reports.
Valeriu Strelet said that given the political instability, the elections and interminable negotiations, there were deviations from the initial plan of action for implementing the Association Agreement. Therefore, the document was updated in accordance with the European agenda adopted together with the partners from Brussels.
The Premier admitted that there are some shortcomings and delays in adopting legislative amendments, fighting corruption, reforming justice and ensuring the financial-banking stability, but there are also accomplishments. Thus, trade between Moldova and the EU increased during a year. The exports of table grapes to the EU rose five times, of plums – eight times, while of apples – three times. The regime of travelling freely in the EU was very well managed and there are no warnings in this regard.
Natalia Gherman stated that Moldova borrowed the Estonian model of implementing the Association Agreement and of reporting on the process. This is a useful mechanism for civil society, which can submit proposals as to the way the accord is implemented.
The minister noted that this year Moldova started to take part in the crisis management missions under the administration of the EU. There were launched the negotiations on the security procedures and the exchange of classified information between Moldova and the EU states. Moldova began to benefit from high-level counseling as the EU delegated advisers to work at Moldovan security and defense institutions. As regards justice and internal affairs, there were adopted the law on party and campaign funding, the law on mediation and the law on the prosecution service, the last one in the first reading only.
The priorities for the near future are to pass the law on the prosecution service in the final reading, to amend the law on the testing of integrity, to strengthen the capacities of the National Anticorruption Center, to investigate the cases of high-level corruption and to identify possibilities for the population from Transnistria to benefit from the provisions of the Association Agreement. The officials underlined that the European integration remains the country’s strategic goal.
