Contention between political leaders endangers signing of Association Agreement, analyst

The dispute between the Moldovan political leaders endangers the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union. The misunderstandings between the parties that formed the Alliance for European Integration can seriously affect Moldova’s image and can diminish the chances of strengthening the relations with the EU at a dynamic pace, considers the executive director of the Foreign Policy Association Victor Chirila. “The EU will sign the Association Agreement with Moldova when there is clarity as to its future course,” the analyst stated for Info-Prim Neo. Victor Chirila said that many people in the country and abroad wonder where Moldova goes. “Is this alliance capable of implementing the government program till the end? – this is what the European officials want to know. The contention between politicians reveals a series of institutional shortcomings. The struggle is not limited to disagreements between several persons. It imperils the functionality of the alliance, the country’s future and the functioning of the political system,” he stated. Victor Chirila expressed his regret at the fact that the negotiation of the Association Agreement became a subject of struggle inside the ruling alliance. “A bad signal is sent to all the European capitals. Surely, the agreement will be negotiated up to the end and the chances of initialing it this year are high. But the worsening of the political situation in the country can hinder its initialing. Things will become clear in the near future, but for this we need stability. The EU will prefer to wait for the situation to calm down so that there is clarity as regards Moldova’s future,” considers the foreign policy expert. According to him, solving the communication and coordination problems is the best solution for the politicians. “The politicians should remember what happened in the past. But they didn’t learn the lesson. Unfortunately, they think only about their own interests. What they do now is a road to collapse. There is no alternative and there are no other players that would replace them and would promote the European integration program. They should return to the negotiating table, forget about frustrations and misunderstandings and behave like European leaders,” said Victor Chirila. On February 13, Prime Minister Vlad Filat announced that his party, the PLDM, withdrew from the agreement on the formation of the Alliance for European Integration signed in 2010. The next day, the PLDM set up a working group for drafting a new agreement for re-forming the AEI. Moldova expects that the Association Agreement with the EU, which includes the deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, will be signed at the Eastern Partnership Summit of this November.