There is no alternative to the European integration. From economic viewpoint, Russia is unable to financially contribute to the development and modernization of the Republic of Moldova, executive director of the Association “Force of Farmers” Alexandru Slusari stated in a public debate staged by IPN. According to the ex-Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the Moldovan authorities should ensure political consensus around the European integration idea and should involve the whole civil society in this process.
Alexandru Slusari noted the so-called balanced foreign policy between the west and the east, which was pursued by the previous governments, was detrimental to Moldova. The European course is the only reliable path of development and modernization for Moldova.
“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine revealed a number of vulnerable points that I think will generate changes inside the European Union after the war. But we should look at things sensibly and pragmatically. At the moment, there is no alternative to the European integration from all standpoints. The scenario of following two directions left us without 1 million people who left the county. The country needs to be modernized, while modernization necessitates financial resources. The Republic of Moldova does not have money,” stated Alexandru Slusari, noting that the union with Romania is an interesting, but unachievable scenario for now and Moldova can be modernized only with the EU’s contribution.
According to him, the accession process is extremely complex and cannot be monopolized by one party. The government should unite the whole society around the European integration idea and should involve professionals who can provide expertise in the pre-accession process.
“We must not lose time in sterile debates as to the existence of an alternative to the European integration. We must ensure the accession to the European Union by respecting the national interest. There is excessive demagogy in the relevant approaches of some of the Moldovan officials,” said the executive director of the Association “Force of Farmers”, noting that the countries of Eastern Europe made a huge modernization jump namely in the pre-accession process.
According to the ex-Deputy Speaker, Ilan Shor is now Russia’s main political ally in Moldova. Moreover, all the agents of influence of the Kremlin will be revived to destabilize the situation in Moldova and to hamper the country’s path to the EU.
“If someone from these revanchists comes to power, in two-three months they will anyway return to the European integration idea as there is no other development path. By the unhappy doctrine to follow two directions, division was created in society and no one tried to ensure a pro-European consensus. Therefore, we always had turmoil,” said Alexandru Slusari, adding that the external factor is now one more problem in addition to the internal problems accumulated during over 30 years.
The public debate entitled “Moldova at a crossroads: EU and its alternative?” was the 283rd installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
