Cornel Ciurea: 2013 represents a major challenge for Moldovan authorities

The year 2013 represents a major challenge for the Moldovan authorities. According to the expert of IDIS „Viitorul” Cornel Ciurea, if three principal objectives are achieved, Moldova may be considered a country that follows firmly the path to European integration even if the people’s support for this project has diminished and the political opposition more insistently promotes the idea of joining the Russia-Kazakhstan-Belarus Customs Union, Info-Prim Neo reports. In the study “Objectives of Moldova’s foreign policy in 2013”, Cornel Ciurea says the main objectives include: closing the talks on the Association Agreement by the Eastern Partnership Summit of Vilnius, including the provisions concerning the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, and implementing the second phase of the dialogue with the EU on the liberalization of the visa regime. “The current Moldovan government staked on the principle “everything or nothing”. A failure at the end of 2013 would make the provision of explanations for the refusal to dismiss the foreign minister at the end of 2012 more difficult,” said the author. According to Cornel Ciurea, Prime Minister Vlad Filat’s assertion that 2013 is a very important year for Moldova’s European course entrusts the Moldovan foreign ministry with a serious task. “We can say that the Government reviewed slightly its priorities. In 2012, Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca spoke about the liberalization of the visa regime as a supreme objective, while in 2013 emphasis is put on the signing of the Association Agreement, including the Free Trade Agreement, while the liberalization of the visa regime remains something uncertain,” said the expert. The study “Objectives of Moldova’s foreign policy in 2013” is included in the Foreign Policy Bulletin, which is a series of analyses by national and foreign experts on the most important foreign policy subjects, the major developments in the Black Sea, the cooperation with international organizations, and the peacekeeping activities in the region.