Moldova needs to develop a democratic basis, Czech Ambassador Kypr

Moldova is an important partner for the European Union and therefore it needs to develop a democratic basis in order to advance, said Czech Ambassador to Moldova Petr Kypr, in an interview with Vocea Basarabiei radio station. According to the diplomat representing the country which currently holds the EU presidency, increased attention must be paid to the freedom of expression, equal access of political parties to media, freedom of the press, Info-Prim Neo reports. “I personally believe in the democratic future of Moldova, otherwise I'd not be here... But it's your duty (of the Moldovans to achieve this democratic future – edior's note)”, the ambassador underlined. According to Petr Kypr, the text of the partnership agreement between Moldova and the EU is almost the same as the Czech association agreement to the EU. “It means a lot. It depends on Moldova how it will cope with its own problems. From the side of the European Union, we are helping to improve standards which will allow Moldova to join the EU”, he said. Speaking about the priorities of the Czech EU's presidency, Kypr mentioned economy, energy, and the role of Europe in the world. Internal cooperation within the EU is also an important issue, since there are a lot of barriers that need to be removed. As concerns the energy security, the Czech presidency will focus on the so-called southern corridor, including the Nabucco project. “We believe that diversification and the technical measures that will improve the energy security will really help even in politics. We have our Czech experience since the break of the Iron Curtain, when each January there were a dispute with Russia, because of the oil through the pipeline Drujba-Friendship. But since we built a new pipeline from the south and we split our sources, the business with Russia improved”. “Nabucco could be an important part of what we call the southern corridor. It's a question of evaluating possible capacities and possible risks, but, on the other hand, it needs a lot of cooperation and understandings.” Kypr believes that the recent gas crisis will really help to find more secure energy sources for Europe. “I believe that now there is more room for maneuver than when it was purely a business question. Today we are speaking about security” “The Czech Republic is going to organize a summit on the southern corridor, which we believe will increase awareness and cooperation,” the ambassador revealed.