European integration process became irreversible for Moldova in 2006, Victor Gurau

[Info-Prim Neo article from the Series “Moldova-20! Whereto?”] [Each of the 20 years of independence in Moldova has its meaning and role in what happened in the period and, undoubtedly, in what is going to happen in the country and the people’s lives in the future. Info-Prim Neo asked politicians, analysts, experts and personalities from different areas to pronounce on the main events that took place during a certain year and assess their impact on the country.] [The year 2006 as seen by Victor Gurau, politologist and political analyst] • [January 31] – The fourth trilateral Moldova-EU-Ukraine meeting centering on the control over the Moldovan-Ukrainian border took place in Brussels. • [February 1] – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan had a meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union Javier Solana, where he spoke about the implementation of the Moldova-EU Plan of Action and Moldova’s intentions to successfully carry it out over the expected period. • [February 7-8] – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Valeriu Ostalep for the first time took part in the working meeting of the Political Directors of the Foreign Ministries of Central and Eastern Europe. • [March] – Russia banned the import of wine from Moldova and Georgia. A diplomatic conflict arose between Moldova, Russia and Georgia. • [May 4] – Moldova was accepted as a fully-fledged member of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) • [June 1] – The Moldova Export Promotion Organization announced the finalization of the project to create Moldova’s brand “Discover us”, which was to be presented in seven countries. • [December 28] – There was adopted the law on the local public administration. [According to politologist and political analyst Victor Gurau], 2006 was a crucial year for Moldova and the Communist government as regards the strengthening of the political and social effort of the national political elites on the path to European integration. “The European integration process became irreversible for Moldova in 2006. All the events that took place throughout the year, which was rather difficult for our country from political and economic viewpoints, confirm this,” said Victor Gurau. He stated both internal and external factors made the Communist administration and President Vladimir Voronin to set the home and foreign policy course towards European integration. In 2002, the Communist government set the intensification of the political and social European integration effort as a medium-term goal. The internal factors were stimulated by the Moldovan political elite, which, on March 24, 2005, unanimously adopted the Declaration of the Parliament of Moldova concerning the political partnership in achieving the European integration objectives, which showed the four parliamentary groups reached consensus to consistently and irreversibly promote the strategic European integration course, said Victor Gurau. The analyst said that following the adoption of this declaration, the Parliament of Moldova passed a number of important legislative measures aimed at strengthening democracy and the rule of law in the country, which were devised with the participation of civil society and the opposition. These steps encouraged the involvement of civil society in the designing and adoption of the normative and legislative framework, which was correlated with the European one. The politologist said that on February 1, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan had a meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union Javier Solana, where he spoke about the implementation of the Moldova-EU Plan of Action and Moldova’s intentions to successfully carry it out over the expected period of time. “He informed the European official that the government of Moldova devoted special attention to the process of coordinating reforms, in accordance with the standards and experience of the EU member states. He enumerated the following priorities: stimulation of the reformation of the national legal system by working out a complex short-, medium- and long-term reform strategy and a financing program; devising of an information and communication European integration strategy; institution of a sustainable dialogue with civil society in the reform implementation process; ensuring of the freedom of expression and of the mass media. According to the politologist, when Valeriu Ostalep, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, for the first time took part in the working meeting of the Political Directors of the Foreign Ministries of Central and Eastern Europe, the process of entering this regional European organization started and finished on May 4, when Moldova was accepted as a fully-fledged member of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP). These events that fostered Moldova’s integration into the regional and European political and economic cooperation organizations were preceded by the fourth trilateral Moldova-EU-Ukraine meeting centering on the control over the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, which took place on January 31 in Brussels. This major political event fueled the Kremlin administration’s jealousy of Moldova’s cooperation relations with the EU, which have steadily developed since 2002, especially after the non-signing of the Kozak Memorandum in 2003. “The PCRM scored a victory in the elections of 2005 despite the major pressure exerted on the Russian-speaking voters by different institutions of the Kremlin administration, including the financial and logistic support provided to the Moldovan opposition. Notwithstanding these negative elements, when foreign factors became seriously involved in the social, political and economic processes in Moldova, the country’s economy saw a constant, positive trend. According to a UN report, in 2006 Moldova used the available resources in the best way possible among the former Soviet countries, outstripping Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Russia,” said the politologist. Victor Gurau considers that the constitution of the EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) had a serious impact on the country’s economy and contributed to the further deterioration of the political and economic relations with Russia. The Mission was launched on November 30, 2005 at the joint request of the Presidents of Moldova and Ukraine, made to the European Commission. The analyst said that Russia classified these actions as “economic and political embargo” on the separatist Transnistrian regime and had an ideal pretext to ban the import of Moldovan wines from March 2006. Bans on the import of other Moldovan agricultural products followed. They led to the worsening of the political and economic relations between Moldova and Russia and, ultimately, to a ‘diplomatic war’ between the two countries, Moldova being intensely supported by the EU countries, Romania in particular, and Ukraine. “It should be noted that in the short term, the Communist government headed by Vladimir Voronin managed to keep the economic situation under control and even to obtain economic growth. After 2000, the economic growth in Moldova was higher than 6%, except for 2006, when the growth was only 4% owing to the conflict with Russia,” said Victor Gurau. He also said that measures to liberalize the activity of economic entities were taken in the period. Major investments were made in the country’s infrastructure. The construction of the oil terminal in Giurgiulesti, which was to improve Moldova’s access to the international oil market and decrease its chronic energy dependence on Russia, was completed at the end of 2006. Speaking about the independence period, Victor Gurau said among the positive elements that constructively marked Moldova are the adoption of the Constitution, the democratic elections and the establishment of social democracy, the peaceful change of governments and the continuation of the European integration process, the voting in of Vladimir Voronin as President of Moldova on April 4, 2005, and the adoption of the Moldovan Parliament’s Declaration on European Integration on March 4, 2005. The negative elements, according to the politologist, include the armed conflict on the Nistru and Russia’s involvement in this internal conflict, the exodus of people abroad to look for a job, the amendment of the Constitution in 2000, and the April 7, 2009 events. The politologist stated that in order to stabilize the sociopolitical situation in Moldova, the parliamentary majority should be re-formed without delay, the political elite’s responsibility to the people should be increased and the President of Moldova should be elected in accordance with the Constitution, without making modifications to it or approving a new Constitution. {Victor Gurau heads the Political and Economic Policy Center “European Moldova” set up under the Managers’ Association of Moldova. He is a founding member of the Rascani local organization in Chisinau of the People’s Front of Moldova (1988). In 1990-1995, he entered the Chisinau City Soviet, which was transformed into the Chisinau Municipal Council in 1992. He is a founding member of the National Liberal Party (1993), a member of the Liberal Party (1994), and a founding member of the Democratic Labor Party of Moldova (1998). He is also the founder of the Iasi newspaper “Opinia Studenteasca” (“Student Opinion”) (1992) and of the weekly “Jurnal de Chisinau” (“Chisinau Journal”) (1992). He heads several companies.}