When Moldova reaches a certain democracy level, the application to join the EU will be perfectly understood, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Dirk Schuebel said in an interview for Radio Free Europe, quoted by IPN.
“I think that the example of Croatia, which joined the EU on July 1, becoming thus the 28th member state, shows that the door is not closed. It is evident that the newcomers must fulfill certain conditions. There must also exist unanimous political consent among the member states to admit other states into the Union. Moldova has good chances, but I think it should meanwhile develop, improve the economy and the rule of law, ensure the respect for the human rights and combat corruption,” said the ambassadors.
Dirk Schuebel also said that it’s better to resolve the Transnistrian conflict so that the joining takes place in concert, but there is no precondition in this respect. “As you saw, we negotiated the Association Agreement even if the Transnistrian dispute is not settled,” he stated.
According to the ambassador, new reforms should be launched and the initiated reforms should be continued as the situation in Moldova will not improve without these reforms. Serious reforms are needed, especially in the judicial system. Many institutions are not well organized and need to be reformed, as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Economy.
Dirk Schuebel considers that the fight against corruption will be successful when all the sides involved will want to combat this scourge. “Our budget support for the justice sector reform is yet to be transferred. Thus, not much money was provided. Evidently, over the next three years we will monitor the reforms so that we know how our funds are used and what visible results are achieved in a short period of time,” said the official.
Asked about Moldova’s future over the next ten years, Dirk Schuebel said that the country has all the chances to become prosperous as it has all the necessary ingredients and it depends on politicians’ capacities how they are used.
Dirk Schuebel completed his duties as Ambassador of the EU to Moldova.
