At the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit of November 29, 2013, Moldova will enter a new stage of relations with the European Union. What will it bring and how will it influence the life of the Moldovans from the country and from abroad? What will each of us gain and what should we do for this benefit to become possible? How will the new conditions affect Moldova’s relations with other countries? The IPN Agency aims to look for answers to these and other questions worrying society, together with you, within the series of articles “Association with the EU to everyone’s understanding
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The Moldovans believe that they will live better after the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU at the Vilnius EaP Summit, even from the next day, but this is not true. The European Union is not a paradise where we will be able to live without making effort and without showing that we are able to meet the standards imposed by it. The European market is open to the national producers, but not all of those who managed to assert themselves in Moldova will be able to preserve their positions as a large number of European companies will enter the national market, said economic expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative IDIS “Viitorul” Tatiana Lariusin.
According to the expert, after Moldova signs the Association Agreement with the EU, it will enjoy short-, long- and medium-term development opportunities. Meanwhile, society and the national companies must learn to cope with the requirements imposed by the EU. The young people will have to know more foreign languages and to do qualification courses so as to deal with the challenges that can appear after the signing of the Association Agreement. This will help the young people to feel more European. The pensioners must ask that the state ensure decent living conditions for them as they will be unable to fully benefit from the concessions of an EU member state. The companies will have to review their costs and managerial polices and to profit from the available niches in the European markets.
Tatiana Lariusin also said that Moldova has what to offer to the Europeans. Following the recession in many European states, the national products of a high quality started to be in demand in Germany, Poland, Austria and other states. The demand for Moldovan products is growing. The companies should only review their business management policies and plan costs for the opportunities and challenges that will appear on the EU market after the signing of the Association Agreement. “What was in the past remained in the past. We must go towards the European market, which is very attractive. The Moldovans must understand that the EU is not a paradise that will enable us to live as the French or the Spanish people form the very next day. We remain Moldovans and the EU should get to Moldova by views, mentality and behavior,” stated the expert.
She also said that the Moldovan producers managed to achieve success and to become known in the EU, but not with the help of the authorities. Moldova does not yet have mechanisms for swiftly passing to European standards. “If we had had such measures, we would have lived according to European standards for over 10 years,” said Tatiana Lariusin.
According to the expert, the risks that can emerge after the signing of the Association Agreement are related to the national economy institutions that are not functional and that do not work in accordance with the legislation. Not all the companies will be able to cope with competition from foreign companies that will look for new export markets.
The expert underlined the necessity of the producers realizing the fact that the Europeans will not carry us in their arms after the signing of the Association Agreement Only those that will meet the requirements and standards imposed by the EU market will endure. There are already instruments that can optimize these risks. We must ask the Government to prepare a set of policies to prevent the risks that can appear in the period of transition. From 2014, after the signing of the Association Agreement, the European community will propose financing mechanisms according to new requirements. Only those that will satisfy them will have access to foreign financial resources.
Alina Marin, IPN
