Ukraine pushes Moldova further from the EU following the rejection by the Supreme Rada of all the bills allowing transferring Yulia Timoshekno abroad for medical care on November 21. This is a requirement of the European Union for signing the Association Agreement with Ukraine at the Vilnius EaP Summit on November 29, says the online edition of the Romanian paper “Cotidianul”, quoted by IPN.
The publication says that one week before the Summit, Ukraine seems to be far from the association with the EU and this is a dangerous situation for Moldova as, technically, Kiev was closer to this objective than Chisinau. “Ukraine, which has a GDP that is 25 times larger than Moldova’s, a more important geostrategic position and a population that is 12 times higher can be a huge obstacle to the European course of Chisinau given that the two countries form part of the same Eastern Partnership,” says “Cotidianul”.
“Moldova deserves all support of the West,” Anders Aslund, a member of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says in a note to the Subcommittee on European Affairs of the U.S. Senate. He stated that the Government of Moldova is a deeply pro-European one and the basis of the country’s economy is healthier than that of Ukraine. Moldova faces much grater pressure on behalf of Russia than Ukraine. First of all, Russia blackmails it over the recognition of the Transnistrian region. The country is also dependent on the gas supplied by Gazprom. Thirdly, the Transnistrian region accumulated large debts to Gazprom without the authorization of Chisinau. “The Russian monopole can use this leverage to make the Moldovan economy bankrupt,” said Anders Aslund, quoted by “Cotidianul”.
The National News Agency of Romania “Agerpres” reports, quoting the director of the Institute of Political Sciences and Interethnic Relations of the Romanian Academy Dan Dungaciu, that Romania will have to rethink its relationship with the East after the Vilnius EaP Summit, which may fail now that Ukraine announced that its suspended the process of preparation for signature of the Association Agreement. This failure will mark a halt in the enlargement of the EU to the East for the next 15 years, while Moldova, which will initial the Association Agreement with the EU in Vilnius, will remain in a ‘gray area’.
The Romanian publication “Gandul” says that Romania’s official assistance for development last year amounted to 494 million lei, which is about €111 million. This is by slightly over €1 million less than a year before. Moldova, Tunisia and Serbia were the main beneficiaries of assistance.
