Spring 2009 will be very difficult for Moldova, Lithuanian official says

Next spring will be very difficult for Moldova, considers the Counselor Minister of the Lithuanian Embassy in Moldova Loreta Zakareviciene, who was the protagonist of European debates in Chisinau on November 13, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The world financial crisis will not bypass Moldova because Moldova forms part of Europe,” the Lithuanian official said. About one million Moldovans went abroad to work, most of them illegally. A large part of them will return to Moldova as they will remain without jobs. Even such large companies as Volkswagen and BMW made 30% of the personnel redundant and offered vacation to the other employees until January 12, 2009. “Will Moldova be ready to welcome the 300,000 citizens back? Will they have a job at home,” Loreta Zakareviciene asked. Influenced by the world financial crisis, all the foreign currencies, especially the euro, decrease in value. The Counselor Minister said she was surprised to see that the leu becomes stronger and stronger. “Now the situation is good, but the coming spring will be very hard for the country. After the 2009 legislative elections, the euro and dollar will appreciate significantly. The sudden depreciation of the leu will negatively influence people’s purchase power. Therefore, the Moldovans should brace themselves for a tough period,” Zakareviciene said. The official of the Lithuanian Embassy thinks that the mandate to hold talks over a new legal and political agreement between Moldova and the EU will be given in several weeks, until Christmas. “But the talks would start only after the 2009 parliamentary elections that will represent a major test for Moldova,” she said. “It is good that 75% of the Moldovans want Moldova to become part of the European Union. But the path to the EU will be long and difficult,” Loreta Zakareviciene warned. Lithuania needed 10 years of hard work to become a member of the European Community. For Moldova, this road could be longer because in Lithuania there is political consensus and the European integration is a national idea. Zakareviciene does not regard the Transnistrian dispute as an obstacle to joining the EU. “The Transnistrian conflict would be solved while covering the long path to European integration, especially because the good changes brought by the integration process will be attractive for the population from the left bank of the Nistru as well. Such conflicts do not last for ever,” the official said. Loreta Zakareviciene praised the Moldovan authorities for the efforts made to solve the dispute at talks in the 5+2 format, but stressed that both of the sides should be willing to resolve the conflict. Lithuania became a member of the EU in 2004, together with the other Baltic countries, Estonia and Latvia. Also in 2004, it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The debates were organized by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives IDIS “Viitorul” in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Foundation.