After 26 years of independence, Moldova can yet recover some of the lost development opportunities, but only if the citizens manage to replace the political class in a qualitative way, politologist Dionis Cenusa says in an opinion article for IPN Agency.
The expert in political sciences considers that only this way the country’s Europeanization could not be mimicked, diluted, postponed or, in general, abandoned. The pro-Russian forces can insist on something else, but there is no other more successful development model in the region for a country interested in democracy than the instruments that represent the European integration.
According to Dionis Cenusa, the Association Agreement that enables the country to advance by borrowing the good European practices is the most progressive method available so far. This is the most ambitious process ever assumed by Moldova, which, if it is implemented correctly, on time and fully, can radically improve the state of affairs in the country.
Through the Association Agreement, the country and society are subject to a complex process of Europeanization that is “successfully” bypassed by the absolute majority of political parties. Therefore, the European integration is superficial and powerfully associated with the mechanic transposition of the European legislation. This explains the state’s failure to use the European model to improve the living standards and discourage thus migration.
The European agenda can be incorporated into the daily life of Moldovans only if there is sufficient public support. The pro-European feelings have always been more powerful among the young people. However, their perception of the EU changed radically after 2012, when political corruption related to the pro-EU parties started to dominate the public sphere.
Even three years after the signing of the Association Agreement, the European integration is an idea that is powerfully incompatible with the agenda of the majority of political parties, in particular the ruling ones. The extra-parliamentary opposition is in the process of Europeanization, but hasn’t yet proven that it wants to embrace all the European values, including those that are inconvenient, dangerous and unattractive for traditional societies.
In such conditions, there is a risk that Moldova’s Europeanization will be more powerfully supported by the EU than by the Moldovan citizens, concluded the politologist.
