At the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit of November 29, 2013, Moldova will enter a new stage of relations with the European Union. What will it bring and how will it influence the life of the Moldovans from the country and from abroad? What will each of us gain and what should we do for this benefit to become possible? How will the new conditions affect Moldova’s relations with other countries? The IPN Agency aims to look for answers to these and other questions worrying society, together with you, within the series of articles “Association with the EU to everyone’s understanding
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Moldova is to initial the Association Agreement with the EU, which provides for the creation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, in Vilnius this November. The idea of the agreement in its current form and, respectively, its objective of political association and economic integration appeared for the first time in 2009, at the first Eastern Partnership Summit held in Prague.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iulian Groza said the content of the agreement is in essence distinctive, even if there are common elements that are found in the similar agreements signed by the EU with other states of the Eastern Partnership. The classical examples of the European or association agreements of the EU with countries from the Central or Southeastern Europe are however an important source of inspiration, even if experience of associating oneself with the EU is not identical.
The agreement between Moldova and the EU is centered more on the political association and economic integration, the European prospect not being excluded, said the deputy minister. According to him, Moldova’s prospect of joining the EU represents a process consisting of several stages and can be recognized by the EU when the Association Agreement is implemented sustainably after its initialing.
In order to obtain the status of accession candidate of the EU, a state must meet a series of conditions known as the Copehnhaghen criteria. Iulian Groza said one of these criteria is to be a European state and thus Moldova is eligible from this viewpoint. After the Association Agreement is implemented, Moldova will prepare to fulfill the other accession criteria. Most probably, the recognition of the accession prospect will be a feasible objective for Moldova at the next Eastern Partnership Summit that will take place in Riga in 2015.
Iulian Groza said that special attention in the immediate future will be paid to the communication with the people about the benefits that they will enjoy after the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU. As regards the political side of the agreement, Moldova will have a profound political dialogue with the EU, while the creation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area will offer more opportunities for the Moldovan products to enter the EU market and vice versa. Also, the European investments will have free access to the Moldovan market. This will lead to the creation of additional workplaces.
The Moldovans will also enjoy advantages after the abolition of the visa regime with the EU. For this, Moldova must meet the European standards, while the people must contribute to the implementation of the recently adopted laws and understand the necessity of the initiated reforms.
The EU signed the last accession agreement with Croatia, which this year has become the 28th member state.
Mariana Galben, IPN
