Law enforced faultily as Moldova-EU Action Plan ends: Euromonitor 2008

The end of the implementation of the Moldova-EU Action Plan was marked by the faulty enforcement of the law. Plus chronic arrears to a series of important sectors: reforming the judiciary and ensuring its independence, adequately ensuring the human rights, the freedom of the media, the autonomy and efficiency of the local public administration.” These are some of the conclusions of the Euromonitor for quarter 4 of 2008, Info-Prim Neo reports. Executive director of the Association for Participative Democracy “Adept” Igor Botan said on Tuesday, February 10, at a conference on launching the 13th issue of Euromonitor, the ruling party further remains more interested in the results of the parliamentary elections of April 5, 2009, than in starting new stages in the relationships with the EU. “Although among the most important progresses found is Moldova's inclusion into the Eastern Partnership – a new project to deepen the relations with 6 neighboring ex-Soviet states --, at all the top-level reunions, the European officials have kept stressing that the quality of the domestic reforms, especially the democratic manner of holding the 2009 parliamentary elections, will determine the character of the future Moldova-EU agreement and its profoundness,” said Elena Prohnitchi, an expert with Adept. The Transnistrian conflict is among the key problems highlighted by the authors of the report. “The multiple diplomatic efforts later last year could not determine the resumption of the talks in 5+2 format. At the same time, the Transnistrian authorities showed reluctance toward the initiatives of Western civic groups about strengthening trust-building measures between the Nistru's two banks,” said Igor Botan. Speaking on economic progresses, the experts have underlined keeping the inflation within one-digit limits and the economic growth despite the global slowdown in the second half of 2008. “Despite the optimistic forecasts of the leadership for 2009, in the conditions of a crisis year they may be influenced by unseen factors,” said Ana Popa, an analyst of Expert-Grup think tank. The quarterly analytical report Euromonitor is compiled by Adept and Expert-Grup analytical center and is financed by the Soros Foundation-Moldova. Euromonitor pursues to independently monitor the enforcement of the reforms envisaged by the Moldova-EU Action Plan ending in February 2008.