IPN published on August 7 and Op-ed titled “Moldova and ‘stabilitocracy’ in European neighborhood”. The political pundit Dionis Cenușa argues in the article that the Moldovan political elite exploit the authentic interest of Brussels in strengthening stability and its commitment to implement the Association Agreements and the existence of “frozen conflicts” and the risk of separatism to achieve narrow political objectives.

The politologist wrote that similar to the Western Balkan states, Moldova suffers because of “stabilitocracy”. This term describes the support provided by the EU and U.S. to some of the Western Balkan states that, even if they weaken the democratic constructions, are considered useful because they ensure relative stability and security in the region.

According to Cenusa, in Moldova “stabilitocracy” became more evident after 2009, when the pro-European coalitions resorted to different reforms promised to the EU, but didn’t give up the corruptible practices and the practice of deviating from the democratic principle of checks and balances.

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President Igor Dodon visited Teheran to take part in the ceremony to inaugurate President-elect Hassan Rouhani. On the margins of the event, Igor Dodon met with high-ranking officials, including the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Vice President of the European Commission. The meeting centered on Moldova’s domestic and foreign policy agenda. Igor Dodon thanked the EU for the support provided to Moldova, underlining the interest in developing constructive and mutually advantageous relations with the EU. He said he plans to pay a working visit to Brussels at the end of this year and reiterated the invitation to the EU official to pay a visit to Moldova in the nearest future.

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The change in the electoral system during many months has been and will yet be the main subject of interest for a lot of people in the Republic of Moldova. Both the promoters and the opponents of the change agree that the adoption of the law on July 20 represents a turning point in the country’s modern history, but each side needs its own interpretation of what will change and how the life of Moldovan society will change, at internal level. But the adoption of the law represented also, if not a turning point, then a moment of hesitation or ambiguity in Moldova’s relations with the development partners, especially the European Union and the United States. The issue was discussed in the public debate “Relations between Moldova and foreign partners following adoption of mixed electoral system” that was staged by IPN.

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The press statement issued by the European officials Federica Mogherini and Johannes Hahn, which said that the Republic of Moldova, when it changed the electoral system, practically fully ignored the recommendations of the Venice Commission, shows the Europeans’ attitude to Moldova, the expert Igor Botan said in the public debate organized by IPN. The expert considers the Moldovan authorities use the political context in the region to a maximum, including the bad relations between Russia and the United States, the European Union and the Russian Federation.

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The bill to modify the electoral system was drafted based on the recommendations made by the Venice Commission. The opportuneness of changing the electoral system was the only element discussed and the people’s opinion was taken into account here, Vitalie Gamurari, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Moldova, stated in the public debate held by IPN. According to him, the relations between Moldova and the development partners haven’t worsened, but there is probably a break or a small misunderstanding in them. The PDM wants a dialogue with the development partners to explain how things stand in fact and the relations will definitely improve from autumn.

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Moldova’s relations with the development partners definitely worsened with the change in the electoral system and the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova is concerned about the situation in which Moldova found itself after the adoption of this system that is designed to keep particular parties in power. If Moldova does not take into account the opinion of the foreign partners, it could lose its credibility, deputy chairman of the PLDM Alexandru Bujorean said in the public debate.

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The Republic of Moldova turned from a success story into a headache and a big disappointment for the development partners. The relations with the development partners have worsened because the European partners understood that the Government of Moldova tried to mislead the development partners with lists of laws and mechanisms and was for now successful. But the Europeans understood it clearly that beyond the negotiated laws, there is also the notion of rule of law and there are captured institutions, secretary general of the Party “Action and Solidarity” Igor Grosu said in the public debate held by IPN. Igor Grosu said the European Union will have a much more reserved attitude to what Chisinau, especially the government, communicates because the whole rhetoric of the government is not credible.

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The relations between the Moldovan authorities and the development partners develop in a normal political framework. The adoption of the mixed system generated a more critical reaction on the part of the European institutions, but this does not necessarily mean something grave in Moldova’s relations with the development partners, Valeriu Giletski, leader of the parliamentary group of the European People’s Party of Moldova, said in the public debate held by IPN. Valeriu Giletski said Moldova earlier witnessed similar situations, when the Europeans had critical opinions, but the relations between the sides haven’t been affected. He doesn’t think the adoption of the mixed electoral system will lead to the annulment of the €100 million in macro-financial assistance and of the liberalized visa regime or to the re-evaluation of the Moldova-EU Association Agreement.

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The measures stipulated in the Moldova – EU Association Agreement in the first half of this year were 80% carried out. The measures created favorable conditions of commercial-economic activity for business entities, IPN has learned from the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. Parliament passed laws that regulate the entrepreneurial activity and adjust the legal acts to the state inspections system. The new changes will contribute to reducing costs and simplifying the activity of business entities owing to the elimination of 140 permissive documents, including 18 licenses. There was adopted the legislative initiative that ensures the highly qualified IT professionals’ facilitated access to the labor market of the Republic of Moldova. The new changes are designed to support start-ups in the field in order to create an efficient permissive framework for ensuring the access of persons who invest in IT to Moldova. The public procurement area was improved by new regulations on the organization and functioning of the Public Procurement Agency.

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The Government has formally initiated negotiations for an amendment to a EU Financing Agreement supporting the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. The amendment will extend the project by two more years and will supplement it with 2 million euros to improve communication efforts. The goal is to further raise awareness of the benefits of the DCFTA for both businesses and the public at large.

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The new Rules of Publishing Court Decisions are limiting access to information, warn investigative journalists. At the same time, authorities argue that the restrictions are meant to keep personal data safe. Discussing the issue at a press club meeting on Thursday, the journalists lamented in particular the provisions that classify the names, addresses and other personal data of the parties in a legal case. However, Sergiu Bozianu, of the National Center on Personal Data Protection, maintains that publishing court decisions for anyone to view violates no fewer than 24 laws. Classifying such information, he added, would be in line with the EU standards and the Association Agreement in particular.

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An Erasmus+ Youth Info Centre opened in Moldova. The network already has centers in six other countries in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. In Chisinau, the center will be managed by the MilleniuM Training and Development Institute. The network’s goal is to spread information among young people and youth organization about the programme’s youth projects and to support the efficient implementation of projects financed by the Erasmus+ Youth.

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The maximum amount of non-reimbursable funding offered to beneficiaries under the Remittance-based Investment Program PARE 1+1 has increased from 200,000 to 250,000 lei. The decision is designed to offset the 25-30% devaluation of the leu over the past seven years. Other changes adopted by the Government make it easier to apply for PARE 1+1 funding.

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Egidijus Vareikis, former Council of Europe rapporteur on Moldova, thinks that it’s not bad when a country finds itself in the position of a student. On the country, it is good because studying means learning something new and getting a diploma in the end. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, the official said that the monitoring process will end when the country reaches a certain level of progress. He thinks that Moldova must use the expertise offered by the Council of Europe in order to define its own policies, goals and path

The summary of news from the IPN series “European Integration” is produced with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany and can be further disseminated on condition that the source is indicated.