Romanian expert says Moldovan authorities should not make commitments they cannot honour

The authorities in Moldova should not make commitments that they cannot possibly keep. Otherwise, they could lose trust of the European Union. Implementing the acquis is a matter of costs, and, besides political support, it is very important that the officials responsible for harmonising the national legislation get fully involved, said Vasile Dragoi, Romania’s Refugee Office head, during a seminar on the freedom of circulation of persons on Friday. In his words, a good legislation is a first step towards implementing the acquis, which requires uninterrupted efforts to ensure that European standards are applied without political intromission. The acquis has to be assimilated and adapted before initiating the accession procedure. Once started, the accession procedure draws substantial financing for the nongovernmental sector to comprehensively monitor the implementation of the acquis. The findings are then carefully studied and the officials at local level get reprimanded for falling short of their commitments to the EU, the expert said. Migration is a multifaceted phenomenon, which cannot be stopped but which requires strict control policies. Generally speaking, free circulation means that every European citizen can travel without any obstruction across the EU, with just a document to prove his/her ID when crossing the border. This right is valid for 3 months. After that, he/she may stay on the territory of the respective EU country if the person proves that he/she has sufficient financial means to make a living, a health insurance and a place to stay. The seminar themed “Harmonisation of the national legislation to the EU acquis in the field of freedom of circulation” is organised by the “EX LEGE” NGO as part of the project “Support to central authorities in harmonising the legislation to the EU acquis”.