The political elites of Moldova must understand that the Association Agreement that envisions the creation of a Free Trade Area with the European Union, means reforms and fundamental methods of modernizing society, Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Pirkka Tapiola said in a debate forum on Moldova’s integration into the EU, held in Chisinau, IPN reports.
“The European Union functions according to the bottom-up approach and centers on standards that would ensure equal work conditions for the business sector. There are such rules as open and equal competition,” said Pirkka Tapiola. Moldova must meet these standards and must have the same conduct as the economic entities of the EU. The imposed requirements are transparent. The EU worked out a reform plan that Moldova must implement,” he added.
“We annually offer over €130 million for Moldova to become competitive on the European market and to develop its economy and the local market. This has nothing to do with the geopolitical interests. The Free Trade Area Agreement does not limit Moldova’s possibilities of exporting to other markets. This area brings internationally recognized standards,” said the EU ambassador.
Pirkka Tapiola stated that the standards required by the EU are recognized as the highest even by the U.S. If Moldova manages to implement these standards and there is no political pressure, it will be able to export national products to several markets, including the CIS and the Customs Union.
“It’s a myth that when this accord starts to be temporarily applied, some of the sectors of Moldova’s economy will be affected. There is no alternative for competitiveness and modernization. The essence is that the sectors that will not be competitive at international level must modernize or must change their industrial infrastructure,” said Pirkka Tapiola.
He underlined that the political leaders must listen to the people, regardless of the situation in which they are. For the EU it is important that the neighboring states offer their people a development framework, while the people should feel protected.
The first annual Conference of the Moldovan European Integration Debate Forum was organized by the Foreign Policy Association and the German foundation Friedrich Ebert, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova.
