The EU gave a credit of confidence to the Republic of Moldova as a result of the signing of the Association Agreement in 2014, but Chisinau prefers to implement some of the document’s provisions by half measures. The country marks time and we returned to that political will that left its imprint, experts of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” Ion Tabarta and Veaceslav Berbeca stated in the program “60 minutes of economic realism”, IPN reports, quoting a press release of “Viitorul”, which produces the program in partnership with Radio Free Europe.
Ion Tabarta said some of the functionaries are willing to implement all the provisions of the document, but there are a series of factors that distort the laws or change their essence. The tax amnesty is a relevant example as this is not a law in the spirit of the Association Agreement. It comes more from the Wild West and there is certainty that after large sums of money were stolen, steps are now being taken to legalize them.
According to Ion Tabarta, the effects of the Association Agreement are not felt by the people, but the effect of the theft of the US$1billion, which eroded the purchasing power of the population and brought the economy to its keens. “In the Republic of Moldova, there is a lot of rhetoric about the EU, but the reforms are done more on paper, in party or clan interests,” he stated.
For his part, Veaceslav Berbeca said the largest part of the reforms in Moldova are done artificially. The Government is justly criticized as the socioeconomic situation remains unchanged. Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe, where the migration rate is high.
The civil society’s participation in decision-making has an important role in implementing the Association Agreement. But many of the laws are not discussed with civil society, while others are adopted without taking into account the opinion of NGOs.
In conclusion, the experts said that a lot of reforms were started in 2009-2015, but the level of corruption increased in the period. They gave as example the killing in the Domneasca Forest, the concession of the Chisinau airport, the theft of the US$1 billion and degradation of the judiciary.
