Lack of political will prevents Moldova from making progress in EU integration process, experts

Moldova does not make much progress on the path to European integration because there is no political will, consider experts of the NGOs Expert-Grup and ADEPT. In a news conference they said the country stagnates in all the areas where reforms are needed, Info-Prim Neo reports. ADEPT executive director Igor Botan said that Moldova made no noticeable progress in ensuring the observance of human rights though the Government continued to improve the legal framework for the protection of human rights. The implementation of these laws is hindered by the absence of efficient mechanisms for penalizing cases of human rights violation, the lack of financial resources and by corruption among civil servants and the law enforcement bodies. He also said that the justice sector reform stopped at the stage of adoption of legal documents, despite the commitments made at national and foreign levels. Justice is not yet perceived as independent by the political class. The high corruption perception index in the system affects the trust in justice. The reform of the Prosecutor’s Office also remained at the level of conceptions and no changes were made in the system, the institution being further criticized. According to Igor Botan, the combating of corruption is one of the greatest failures of the authorities as not much was done at national level and to fulfill the promises made to the EU. The legislation adjusted to the EU standards does not have palpable effects. “If there was political will and a coherent approach, Moldova would make progress in the European integration process much faster,” stated the executive director of ADEPT. Expert-Grup executive director Valeriu Prohnitski said the political will should be strengthened for the necessary reforms to be implemented. A strategic approach is needed in promoting reforms because many ministries are blinded by short-term interests and are unable to pursue long-term goals. “The European integration should be clearly reflected in the budget. We do not see this reflection in the programs for the implementation of reforms. The social dialogue should be strengthened so as to avoid dissatisfaction similar to that over the antidiscrimination law,” said the expert, adding that the conflicts of interests should be eliminated and the powers should be more clearly defined.