Before the turn of the year, IPN looks back on the events that had the biggest impact on Moldova and asks experts to comment on their immediate effects, as well on what we should expect of them in the long term.
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Arcadie Barbarosie, executive director of the Institute of Public Policies, says that the fragile balance in the Parliament raises doubts about political stability in the short term, especially when the date will come to elect the President. According to him, the three pro-European parties – PLDM, PDM and PL – are yet to propose a solution to prevent or overcome such a political crisis.
“This year, I think, has been rather contradictory. Our country has advanced on its path towards European integration and probably the most two important events here are the liberalization of the visa regime and the signing and ratification of the EU Association Agreement. These two events have had a big impact on Moldova”, stressed Barbarosie. However, he admits that this impact hasn't been reflected in the people's perception because support for European integration has decreased. “In 2014, we haven't seen any real results in the reform of justice and the fight against corruption. Another disadvantage has been Russia's hostile attitude towards Moldova”, said the analyst.
Barbarosie also noted the increased support on the part of Moldova's development partners. “Let's think about financial support. External grants make up 10% of our budget. And then we had Romania's help – buses for schools, the renovation of many cultural centers, etc.”, said the expert. Unfortunately, this massive support failed to reorient the people towards Europe and the results of the parliamentary elections are contradictory. “Yes, the pro-European parties have a majority, but a rather frail one. 55 out of 101 is a majority, but it will be hard to work because if 2 or 3 are absent, then there is the risk of insufficient quorum or the lack of a majority to adopt the laws”, explained the analyst.
He also remarked that several reproachable things happened during the electoral campaign, such as the removal a party from the race, which violated the principles of the rule of law. According to him, society shouldn't tolerate such behavior of the government. Barbarosie agrees that removed party did violate the regulation on financing, but it became the victim of selective justice because the mass media and civil society reported similar violations committed by other parties that won the elections and are now in Parliament. According to the expert, this is unacceptable and worrisome.
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Note: As part of this series, we have already reviewed the obtaining of the liberalized visa regime with the EU, the signing of the EU Association Agreement, the Russian bans and the results of parliamentary elections.
Mariana Galben, IPN
