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”.
----
The Association Agreement is understood by the politicians, not yet by the people. Political analyst Mihai Cernencu, who heads the International Relations and Politology Department of the Free International University of Moldova, said the government does nothing to inform society about the provisions of the agreement.
The Government should work out a national information strategy that would involve all the mass media organizations – national and local, public and private. The Government must explain to the people what they will gain, what difficulties will be encountered, what Moldova will have to comply with and how will the period of transition be.
The analyst said the Association Agreement requires efforts not only on the part of the authorities, but also on the part of the people, like for example the producers of goods that must be of a high quality. The agreement contains multiple provisions that must be obeyed by the people. In order to obey them, they must know them.
According to Mihai Cernencu, not enough is done to explain what the Association Agreement is. “The politicians limit themselves to holding talks, to paying visits abroad and to inviting European officials. I think the essence of the Association Agreement with the EU is known only by the politicians, those who analyze this accord,” stated the analyst.
He believes that the people are to blame for such a situation because they do not make effort to inform themselves in detail about this subject. The Moldovans expect only one thing – the visa regime to be liberalized as they have parents, children and relatives abroad and this is what really concerns them. But the people shouldn’t neglect other aspects, including the European market, the banking sector and the quality of products.
Liliana Vitu-Esanu, spokeswoman for the Premier, said the Government took numerous steps to inform the people about the Association Agreement and, before the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit of November 29, will launch a series of activities to inform the population about the importance and results of this meeting.
Earlier, the Liberal Democratic Party announced it will launch a campaign to inform the people about Moldova’s European integration and its prospects so that every citizen understands what the Government aims to achieve and what benefits the European integration brings to every person apart.
Irina Ţurcanu, IPN
