The political choice of the citizens is one of the main factors through which society can influence the European integration of the Republic of Moldova, said Mihai Mogîldea, deputy director of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE). According to him, if pro-Russian parties eventually come to power, the European integration process will be stopped. For his part, the head of the Legal Resources Center from Moldova (LRCM) Ilie Chirtoacă said that justice is the most difficult chapter of the accession negotiations and the speed of Moldova’s accession depends on the way the justice sector reform is done, IPN reports.
According to the IPRE deputy director, Moldova’s citizens can directly influence the acceleration or stopping of the process of joining the EU through the political option they express in elections.
“There are several factors that influence the rapprochement with the EU and concern society. The first is the political choice of the citizens. It is obvious that in our political spectrum there are pro-European parties and pro-Russian parties, which are financed and supported by the Russian Federation. Once these pro-Russian parties come to power, surely our European perspective will become more distant. It matters a lot to make a correct and well-informed choice to support political leaders who have dignity, character and a clearly pro-European option,” Mihai Mogîldea stated in the talk show “Good Evening” on the public television channel.
In the same connection, director of the Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” Adrian Lupușor said that the government of a state is primarily responsible for the speed of implementation of reforms. Although the security crisis in the region affects Moldova, it should not prevent the government from advancing on the path of reforms.
“We see an ambitious agenda, but often things go much slower than they should go. European integration depends only on us. Moldova, being a small country, will always be exposed to various external shocks. Obviously, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, the hybrid war, are external obstacles that affect our speed of integration, but these external obstacles should not be an excuse for any government. The domestic factor, the political factor and the government will always be to blame for the slow progress of reforms. The real enemy is inside, not outside,” stated Adrian Lupusor.
The justice sector reform and the fight against corruption will be the main indicator that the country is ready to join the European Union, said LRCM president Ilie Chirtoacă.
“As regards the justice sector reform, things here are quite difficult. And we have recent examples, such as the failure to elect the Prosecutor General, which is a concrete condition in the context of the European integration. I understand that the justice sector reform is complicated and this is why the European Commission, the European institutions said that the negotiations start with justice and end with justice. The authentic justice sector reform and fight against corruption will be an indicator of our success in the European integration,” noted Ilie Chirtoacă.
