Moldova made moderate progress in the European integration process in the second quarter of this year. The signing and ratification of the Association Agreement and the liberalization of the visa regime are the major accomplishments. However, there are also a series of shortcomings. The assessments are contained in the “Euromonitor” report that presents the developments and challenges in the European integration process of Moldova. The report is compiled by the associations “Expert-Grup” and ADEPT, IPN reports.
According to the executive director of “Expert-Grup” Adrian Lupusor, the fact that the Association Agreement was ratified by Parliament is a success, but its benefits in the immediate period will be limited owing to the uncertain situation in the region, the electoral frenzy, the slowdown in economic growth and the limited capacities of most of the public institutions.
The accord will bring benefits to consumers as a result of the intensification of competition and economic activity. But these benefits will become visible in the long term. “In the short term, the accord’s effects will be uncertain, even insignificant, as the foreign direct investment will remain moderate, as now, owing to the situation in Ukraine,” said Adrian Lupusor. He added that the capacities of the public sector, which is responsible for the implementation of structural reforms, remain rather limited. This fact can prevent Moldova from fulfilling the assumed commitments.
ADEPT associate expert Mariana Kalughin said the adoption by Parliament of the strategy for reforming the Prosecutor General’s Office is an accomplishment. This policy document represents the conceptual basis for working out bills concerning the place and role of the prosecution service. Also, the people’s satisfaction with the legal system improved, while the number of hearings recorded by audio equipment rose by 12% compared with the last quarter of last year.
As regards the National Anticorruption Strategy, Mariana Kalughin said the implementation of this policy will not be efficient if the Government and Parliament do not take steps to work out appropriate action plans on time.
ADEPT expert Polina Panainte said that Parliament in this period made effort to show that it is committed to ensure the observance of human rights, but these intentions are not put into practice. The legislature didn’t adopt the bill on the women’s participation in decision-making and the bill to ensure media ownership transparency in the final reading. It is four months since the new Law on the People’s Ombudsperson took effect, but it remains non-functional because the legislative body didn’t confirm the candidates for the posts of people’s ombudsperson.
Speaking about the Transnistrian region, ADEPT executive director Igor Botan said the Moldovan authorities took a series of measures to build confidence in the Transnistrian conflict settlement process. They annulled the ecological taxes and excises for the Transnistrian companies and proposed tackling the problems related to the issuing of documents to the Transnistrians in accordance with the international conventions signed by Moldova. The exiting difficulties can be overcome when the Transnistrian conflict settlement talks make headway on the political aspects.
The “Euromonitor” is produced quarterly to inform and stimulate the active participation of the public in the debates related to the European integration process.
