The Republic of Moldova will be supported by the EU only if it wants this itself. If they want reforms oriented to the West in Moldova, this thing should by ensured by the relevant forces existing in the country, director of the European Academy Berlin Eckart Stratenschulte stated for IPN’s correspondent in Berlin.
According to him, the EU has several important areas in the foreign policy sphere and the Republic of Moldova does not form part of these. The only possibility of coming closer to the EU is for the people to be active in the own country, to contribute to reforms not only on the surface, but also in deepness. This would be an important signal for the EU and the European Union will thus support these reforms.
The director of the European Academy Berlin said there is a contradiction between what the Government of Moldova declares and what it does. “This is the problem. There are wise people in the Republic of Moldova who know what to relate to the EU institutions,” stated Eckart Stratenschulte.
For the European Union, the Republic of Moldova is not so important. That’s why nobody tries to perceive the essence of things. For the European officials, it is important to be quietness in Moldova. “There are no conflicts, gunfire, dead people, revolutions and this means there is certain availability on the part of the EU to be told stories. Such behavior on the part of the EU leads to superficial commitment in Moldova,” said Eckart Stratenschulte.
The professor said he always pleaded for supporting Moldova inside the EU and transforming it into a model. “If we manage to bring a small country to the path of success for things to advance for the people, acting like this we will do something good for the people. Simultaneously, we could show to other countries that we can do democratic and economic reforms. Regrettably, there is no interest on the European side. I think Moldova has good conditions and well trained people. The country is not big and this means that the support would not cost a lot,” stated the Academy’s director.
In the opinion of Eckart Stratenschulte, the EU missed a chance as regards the Eastern Partnership policies centering on the Republic of Moldova. The so-called pro-European coalitions in Chisinau managed to do not much and the presidential elections showed the people think that maybe the Russian Federation can help them more than the EU can.
