IPN on September 18 published an OP-ED article entitled “Magnetization of Eastern Partnership, Russia’s role and implications for Moldova”, signed by expert in political sciences Dionis Cenusa. According to the author, before speaking about the Eastern Partnership+ or the European perspective, the democratic reforms should be strengthened by targeted conditionality, by capacitating the investigative media and civil society. The recommendations formulated by the European Parliament photograph a series of challenges faced by Moldova and other countries of the region. Of the over 20 recommendations intended for the European institutions, three are decisive. First of all, Brussels should make sure that the European values are fully implemented and promoted by the countries with Association Agreements. Secondly, it is suggested renewing partner states’ commitments concerning the implementation of reforms related to justice, public administration and corruption fighting. Last but not least, it is requested to strengthen civil society, which plays a crucial role in promoting reforms, explained Dionis Cenusa. He reminded that the Moldovan authorities tested the idea of restricting the external financing for NGOs that deal with public policies. The expert concluded that if the state institutions or justice remain unchanged, the length of life of European investments will be short, while their main beneficiaries will be not the people, but corrupt politicians.
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The abrogation of the law on the change in the electoral system and return to the proportional representation system, de-monopolization of the media market, publication of the second report compiled by Kroll by holding accountable those who are to blame for the large-scale theft and restoration of the embezzled funds and imposition of individual penalties by the foreign partners on Vlad Plahotniuc and Igor Dodon as the main persons to blame for the democratic deviations in Moldova were among the demands specified in the resolution that was passed by the participants in the September 17 protest mounted by the Great National Assembly Council. “We call on the international institutions to impose direct individual penalties on Vlad Plahotniuc and Igor Dodon and their circles, as the main persons to blame for the anti-democratic and anti-European deviations of the government and for the attempts to establish dictatorship, so as to ban these from entering the EU and to freeze all the funds and economic property that belong to them or are controlled by the two on the EU’s territory,” reads the document.
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The measures stipulated in the Moldova – EU Association Agreement that were to be taken in the mass media sector in June – August this year haven’t been implemented. According to the second quarterly monitoring report compiled by the Association of Independent Press (API), things didn’t change significantly compared with the previous monitoring period. API expert Aneta Gonta said that in the monitored period the authorities were to adopt a national strategy for developing the mass media, but this hasn’t been done and the measure has been overdue since the previous quarter. The provisions about the development of the national broadcasting sector and the allocation of financial resources for producing program services haven’t been implemented either. The provision about the access of persons with hearing and visual impairments to TV programs has been applied partially. The report recommends the authorities to review and supplement the National Plan of Action for implementing the Association Agreement and to accelerate the pace of carrying out the measures aimed at developing the mass media.
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The authorities aim to create an inter-institutional platform for monitoring and controlling the investigation of the banking fraud and for recovering the embezzled funds in the country and abroad in accordance with the priority reform action roadmap that was signed by the Government and Parliament on July 5 this year. The subject was discussed in the meeting of the standing committee for monitoring cases of increased social interest that was convoked by Prime Minister Pavel Filip. This was also attended by Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu. In the meeting, the participants examined the situation concerning the banking fraud and exchanged opinions on the possibilities of stepping up inter-institutional cooperation in a move to advance the recovery of funds. In this connection, the liquidators of the three banks that were involved in the fraud presented information about the recovery of assets and the difficulties faced in this process, including about the ongoing lawsuits. The managers of law enforcement agencies informed about the progress made in the conducted investigations.
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Prime Minister Pavel Filip met with the President of the European Council Donald Tusk, the Presidents of Slovakia, Turkey and Romania and with his Georgian counterpart on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly held in New York. In the discussions, Pavel Filip asked for assistance in having the pullout of the foreign troops from Moldova’s territory included in the agenda of the UN session. According to the Government’s press service, Donald Tusk said he supports Moldova’s European integration efforts and encouraged the Moldovan authorities to continue to do reforms for the people’s benefit. In the meeting with the President of Slovakia, Andrej Kiska assured that the Republic of Moldova will continue to benefit from assistance from the Slovak authorities in doing reforms to modernize the country and advance on the path of European integration. In the discussions with Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Pavel Filip underlined the good cooperation relations between the Republic of Moldova and Georgia in the field of European integration, noting that the exchange of good practices in such areas as domestic affairs, justice and defense will contribute to implementing the European agendas of the two states. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis told Pavel Filip that Romania can and should help Moldova, regardless of the approaches of some of the politicians. In the meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the officials appreciated the good dialogue between the two states and expressed their readiness to sign strategic documents that would contribute to strengthening the bilateral relations, including the joint statement on the constitution of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council and the bilateral agreement on travels by the citizens of the two states based on identity cards.
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The European Union will continue to assist the Moldovan authorities in promoting policies that are for the people’s benefit, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn stated in a meeting with Prime Minister Pavel Filip that was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. The officials conferred on the implementation of the Moldova – EU Association Agreement and the key actions that need to be taken in this regard. The Association Agenda agreed by Moldova and the EU is an important instrument in this regard. This specifies the actions that will be taken by institutions in 2017-2019 to implement the Association Agreement. Speaking about the EU macro-financial assistance, Pavel Filip assured that all the conditions for allocating this will be met so that this is disbursed according to the agreed schedule.
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Two projects to the total value of €5.5 million will be put into practice in Moldova by the European Union to help implement the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. The first project “Visibility and Communication for actions related to AA/DCFTA Implementation in the Framework of the EU funded Assistance Programs” will last for 24 months and is designed to increase the awareness and understanding of the benefits of a fully implemented and fully participatory AA/DCFTA. The second project “Support to Quality Infrastructure Framework in the context of the DCFTA in the Republic of Moldova”. The implementation period is of 36 months. There will be promoted different awareness, communication and visibility actions related to quality infrastructure, market surveillance and internal and external market conditions and opportunities. The projects are to be launched this October and November.
The summary of news from the IPN series “European Integration” is produced with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany and can be further disseminated on condition that the source is indicated.
