EU is concerned that Moldova could fall back into the Russian sphere of influence

The European Union assumes that Moldova could fall back in the Russian sphere of influence soon, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the on-line publication EUobserver. According to the publication, the EU is pressing Russia to revive multilateral talks on the future of Moldova, amid fears that a bilateral Chisinau-Moscow deal could see the once pro-EU state fall back into the Russian sphere of influence in a blow to Europe's neighbourhood policy goals. The EU suggests that the multilateral talks in 5+2 format, which includes also Moldova and its rebel province of Transnistria, could end the Transnistrian conflict after 15 years of tense ceasefire. "Moldova would be the first country the Kremlin won back from the west since the 1970s," a correspondent for The Economist magazine touring Trasndniestria wrote a few days ago. During the 14th summit of heads of state of Central Europe in Brno, Czech Republic, Romanian President Traian Basescu lobbied for EU integration for Moldova in a potential enlargement wave. Basescu believes that “the community of European citizens means solidarity with the aspirations of all societies which, through their history and culture, belong to the European civilization space”. He underlined that the “open doors” principle is a strong incentive for the progress of reforms in the EU-hopefuls, establishing a clear goal and guaranteeing recompense. For his part, President Vladimir Voronin said in Brno that Moldova is a country divided by a territorial conflict, with low incomes, and whose statal and national identity has not become a certainty for some of its neighbours yet. In his opinion, Moldova has to work on two main issues on its way towards the European integration: modernising the country according to European standards and becoming prosperous.