President dissatisfied with pace of Moldova’s European integration

The European integration of Moldova resembles “a carriage pulled by a crawfish, a frog and a pike” (editor’s note: “The crawfish, the frog and the pike” is the title of a fable by Donici, in which the three animals pull a carriage in different directions), lacking cooperation between all the executive structures with a view to harmonizing the efforts for integration, President Vladimir Voronin stated at a meeting on Moldova–EU Action Plan, which was attended by the leaders of the central public administration in charge with the implementation of this document. According to the press service of the Presidency, the head of state levelled harsh criticisms at the Government for inefficient coordination at national level of the activities provided for the implementation of the Action Plan. “The European integration is the essence and the purpose of the actions taken to consolidate the independence and sovereignty of the state, to guarantee the irreversibility of the democratic processes. I do not see a more important task for the leaders of the ministries and other subdivisions of the central administration than the concerted efforts to attain this goal”, Voronin said. The unsatisfactory coordination between Ministries and Departments engaged in cooperation with the EU institutions, and the delayed fulfilment of the assumed obligations are among the reasons for the slow implementation of the Moldova–EU Action Plan. The head of state is displeased with the level of fulfilling the commitments assumed by Moldova concerning the judicial reform. Voronin emphasized that 2007 will be a summary on yearlong actions taken for the European integration. In this regard, he stressed the necessity to work out, following the report on Moldova’s progress made within the European Neighbourhood Policy of the European Commission, dated December 4, an action plan that would exclude any possibility of rejecting the European experts’ recommendations. President has referred to the opportunity of setting up a concrete mechanism for presenting to the European institutions the official position of Moldova towards certain subjects. Head of state requested to set up a unique national mechanism, proving the well-determined competences of the institutions in charge, which would consolidate the absorption capacity for the financial assistance offered by the EU. These funds must be directed towards the primary fields and efficiently managed, otherwise, there is the risk to lose them, Voronin asserted. President stated he will not further tolerate the manifestation of some irresponsible attitudes towards the carrying out of the Moldova–EU Action Plan and expects immediate and firm actions on the part of the leaders of the central public administration, which must result in obvious effects in the shortest time possible.