The slow pace and incomplete character of reforms is a usual finding in the case of Moldova, but this is also applicable to Ukraine and also to Georgia, to a lesser extent, political pundit Dionis Cenusa wrote in an analysis article for IPN Agency.
According to the politologist, the perception during the past two years has always been more critical of the Moldovan context owing to the combination of a number of factors.
Moldova witnessed a massive decline in the EU’s trust owing to the banking frauds disclosed in 2014. Ukraine and Georgia avoided critical situations during the past four years, securing a more positive image than Moldova.
Consequently, neither the influence of the oligarchic interests in Georgia or Ukraine seems to bother the EU as much as in the case of Moldova.
The second factor that dictates a demanding approach to Moldova results from the weak government at internal level. In a bid to transfer image from outside, this assumed a larger number of commitments that it could really honor. Under the pressure of the undone homework and with parallel monitoring on the part of Brussels and local civil society, the maneuvering field of the ruling party decreased drastically.
The electoral context and the ruling party’s tendency to keep power after 2018 deactivate the feeling of proportionality in adopting decisions. A distinct situation is seen in the rather balanced EU’s relationship with Ukraine, and, especially, with Georgia, where elections will be held in 2019 only, specified Dionis Cenusa.
The political affiliation to Brussels of Moldovan political players is the last factor that imposes a rigorous attitude to the reform agenda in Moldova. Thus, the European People’s Party (EPP) is the main pan-European political force that imposes the tone in the European Parliament and in the European Commission and deals with Moldova’s cause. Its interest in Moldova intensified in 2016-2017, after the extraparliamentary opposition in Moldova, the Party “Action and Solidarity” and the Platform “Dignity and Truth”, started to gravitate around the EPP.
The case of Georgia is similar, except for the fact that the Georgian opposition associated with the EPP (United National Movement) is disbanding and is far from the government’s popularity. Simultaneously, the shortcomings of the government in Ukraine seem to be tolerated and protected from the harsh criticism, mainly owing to the affiliation of Petro Poroshenko’s party to the European People’s Party.
Before the political renewal in Moldova, the EU should find new methods to encourage the reform agenda, to strengthen the reform process and to impede its reversibility, concluded the expert.
