Josette Durrieu: Moldova is right to aspire to get out of CoE's monitoring after 2009 parliamentary elections

“Moldova is right to aspire to get out of the CoE's monitoring after the 2009 parliamentary elections, but it depends only on Moldova and its citizens,” stated Josette Durrieu, a co-rapporteur of the Council of Europe (CoE) for Moldova on ending her fact-finding visit to Moldova. “The electoral campaign should be fair and correct because it is Moldova's last test to show it reached maturity. This is also a need to force the door toward the European Union,” the European official said. The Council of Europe will especially monitor the unfolding of electoral process. “An electoral mission will take place in the month preceding the elections, so not only the election day will be monitored, but also the entire race,” Josette Durrieu has specified. The rapporteur says she has noticed many visible changes in Moldova during her trip. “The progresses are incontestable, still Moldova is far from what it is asked by the CoE. Anyway, it seems the dynamics has started,” the rapporteur told journalists. She remarked the changes in Chisinau among the special progresses : “Chisinau, its streets and suburbs have changed much, they build all around.” “The difficulties still remain, she added, a society where a teacher gets from 50 to 80 euros a month is a society not at the good level.” Josette Durrieu finds Moldova to be a country with stability at the level of the Government. Still the political stability has not been reached yet because the opposition is scattered. Returning from Tiraspol, the European official has found the sides involved in the Transnistrian conflict are going to start the talks. “We hope it to be a peaceful solution, observing the integrity of Moldova and Europe. We are concerned, too, in the long run – we cannot have unstable borders in the East,” Josette Durrieu said. The official showed herself enchanted at the will of the Chisinau authorities, which are intent to the European Union, one of these days, an association agreement and the title of a candidate-country. However, the rapporteur says this should have been done long ago. “Moldova missed the train taken by Romania and Bulgaria and, sometimes, the train does not come twice. Now it's more difficult to adhere.” The co-rapporteurs of the Commission for the member states honoring commitments, Josette Durrieu and Egidijus Vareikis, payed a fact-finding visit to Moldova on September 8 and 9. They have met with speaker Marian Lupu, parliamentary faction leaders, premier Zinaida Greceanai, foreign minister Andrei Stratan, with representatives of the broadcasting regulator and of the public broadcaster “Teleradio – Moldova”.