“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.
---
“Moldova does not have membership perspective”
Expert of the Foreign Policy Association Lina Grau said there are already states in the European Union that speak about the necessity of recognizing the membership perspective of Moldova. Consequently, the assertion that Moldova does not have membership perspective is a myth. Moreover, on July 3 the German Bundestag adopted a resolution on Moldova’s European perspective. “When such a message comes from Germany, which is one of the great powers of the EU, it’s clear that Moldova enjoys great support. If all the reforms are done, Moldova can apply for the status of EU member,” stated Lina Grau.
She gave as example Croatia, which is the last state that joined the EU. They were told openly that they have no chance of becoming an EU member. But they went home and did reforms and when the country was ready, it became the 28th member of the European Union.
According to Lina Grau, those who disseminate such myths have the task of demoralizing the political class and society and assert that Moldova’s effort is useless. “It is not useless because the reforms will change the state of affairs in Moldova. Each of us will have access to good justice. The authorities will be not corrupt and the economic level will be higher. When seeing that things go right, the EU member states will become more willing to offer Moldova this status, especially because it is a small country that can be easily assimilated by the EU,” added the expert.
A powerful argument for providing the status of EU member, according to Lina Grau, is the situation in the region. Given that Russia intervenes aggressively in Ukraine, the European Union is interested in maintaining a stability zone at its borders and this is possible by increasing its influence.
On its website, the EU Delegation to Moldova says the the EU and Moldova will engage in reforms in order to bring Moldova and its governance standards closer to those of the EU. This is not yet an accession process and the reforms agreed do not have the same breadth and depth as in the EU’s pre-accession process. The agreed reforms are tailored for Moldova and do no encompass the entire EU legislation – only the selected parts which are necessary to address trade-related issues. The Association Agreement itself “leaves open the way for future progressive developments in EU-Moldova relations”.
Alina Marin, IPN
