Moldova could have a clear prospect of obtaining a liberalized visa regime with EU in two years

If Moldova obtains a road map by the end of this year and starts implementing it from next year, it will have a clear prospect of benefiting from a liberalized visa regime with the EU in two years, the executive director of the Foreign Policy Association Victor Chirila said during public debates held at Info-Prim Neo on June 14. The debates were held on the occasion of the dialogue on the liberalization of the visa regime that opens in Luxemburg on June 15. It will take place within the Moldova-EU Cooperation Council. “The dialogue is first of all a technical process that should not be affected by the internal developments in Moldova. But it is important that Moldova has a reliable Parliament and a stable Government the next years,” Victor Chirila said. “It will be bad if Moldova does not obtain this prospect in 2-3 years. It would be a failure in the European integration process,” Victor Chirila said, stressing that if the EU delays this process, the impact of a liberalized visa regime will not be the expected one as the number of Moldovans who obtain Romanian nationality is on the rise. Eugen Caras, deputy head of the European Integration Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, said the Moldovan Government's expectations are high. A meeting of high-ranking officials, involving Moldovan Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca, will take place in Luxemburg on June 15 in the afternoon, after the opening of the dialogue. “Tomorrow we will take stock of what we accomplished after the visit paid by the European Commission's fact-finding mission to Chisinau on March 1-3. The liberalization of the visa regime is the Government's major goal,” Eugen Caras said. According to the official, a fact-finding mission of the EU is expected to come to Chisinau after the opening of the dialogue. It will make key recommendations on the basis of which a joint plan of action with the EU will be formulated. The participants in the meeting said that according to the road maps of the Western Balkan states, which have benefited from a liberalized visa regime with the EU since January 1,2010, Moldova will have to focus on four areas: security of documents, including issuing of biometric passports from January 1, 2011; illegal migration; public order and security; and the foreign relations and fundamental rights. “The chances of obtaining a road map for visa regime liberalization will depend greatly on the consultation process and on the progress made in implementing important reforms for the liberalization of the regime in the medium or short term,” Victor Chirila said. The Foreign Policy Association formulated a number of proposals for the authorities. Experts of the Association consider that the Government should make public the plan of action on the liberalization of the visa regime that was submitted recently to the EU. They said that representatives of the civil society and the National Participation Council with the Government should be included in the interministerial working group. The Association also proposed creating a governmental website that will periodically inform about the implementation of the measures undertaken by Moldova.