The European Union intensified its dialogue both with the pro-EU government and the pro-EU opposition and the goal of this dialogue is to better implement reforms for the benefit of the country’s people, Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Peter Michalko stated in an interview for IPN News Agency, which centered on the results of the implementation of the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement in 2017.
Peter Michalko noted particular areas in which the pro-EU government managed to partially do reforms, but made it clear that greater results in this regard can be achieved through a political competition between the government and the opposition
“We see positive things in the economic sphere. We see highly appreciated steps in stabilizing the banking sphere. This was the most important thing done after the banking fraud was committed. Confidence was restored on this segment, including by adopting the legislation envisioned by the Association Agenda, this being another condition for macro-financial assistance. In general, we can say that more progress is witnessed when we speak about the adoption of legislation, but we must yet see more implementation,” he stated.
Peter Michlako provided also explanations over the EU’s position in the situation when the pro-EU government and the pro-EU opposition addressed different messages to the Europeans, even contradictory ones, in 2017.
“As I already said, the pluralism of opinion, especially in the political sphere, is a basic element of any society that wants to be called democratic. It is normal when different political forces have different opinions and this affects their communication with other partners. What is important in this regard is that all the contacts between us as dialogue partners are based on European values and our common agenda that is aimed at reforms. At the same time, the intensity of our communication with representatives of different opinions points to the change in the quality of our relationship and our dialogue towards a very, very close one. The Republic of Moldova is no longer a country somewhere outside the European Union. It is our neighbor and an important partner and it is now an associated country that assumed commitments as regards the observance of values and implementation of reforms. I think this is also the logical explanation why emphasis in the dialogue with different political forces is placed on the necessity of fulfilling these commitments. I hope this kind of dialogue in the future can bring a healthy competition as to how fast and well the European standards can be implemented in the Republic of Moldova, for the benefit of its citizens,” said the EU Ambassador to Moldova.
