“The Association Agreement will lead to Moldova’s loss of sovereignty”, “The Association Agreement will further enflame Russia-Moldova relations”, “Consumer prices will increase as a result of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area”. These are only some of the most spread hypotheses about the Association Agreement with the European Union. Are they true theories or just myths? IPN aimed to find out the answer from a number of independent experts and officials working in the addressed areas.
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”If the Association Agreement is signed, the authorities will have to cut jobs and decrease wages, and people will lose their pensions”
“The number of jobs cannot be cut. On the contrary, it is expected that the jobs will rise in number because the Moldovan economic entities will become potential European partners in a number of projects and are even becoming trustworthy exporters for some of the commercial sectors of the EU market. It is evident that, judging by economic logic, new jobs can be created in Moldova as well. The higher the demand, the larger is the number of jobs that can be created at national level,” explained Viorica Antonov, expert in social policies and development at the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul”.
She underlined that the assertion “If the Association Agreement is signed, the authorities will have to cut jobs and decrease wages” is definitely a myth. “The logic that must be understood is that the higher the number of export markets, with the EU being the largest market in the world, the larger are the quantities of goods that the Moldovan companies can export to the EU. Thus, the chances of creating jobs in the country will increase and the salaries will also grow,” said the expert.
Viorica Antonov noted that with the development of economy, the social insurance budget will benefit because it is the economic entities that actually maintain the budget rather than the public servants. This thing increases the chances for the pensions in Moldova to be higher. But everything depends on the involvement of the economic entities and their will to be partners in a number of European initiatives. Some of the initiatives will become accessible in the near future, especially in agriculture. This will reduce the market’s dependence on the East and will create diversity. There are European initiatives and they have to be only implemented.
The Delegation of the European Union to Moldova says the Association Agenda will create a wealth of new opportunities for the Moldovan economy, which will be integrated to the EU economy (more than one fourth of the world’s total trade). Independent economic studies show that the impact of Association on jobs and wages will be positive, while Moldova will catch up with the rest of the world in terms of economic competitiveness.
Alina Marin, IPN
