The Resolution adopted by the European Parliament on November 14 deepens the criticism formulated in the resolution issued by the European Parliament in July 2018, when it was decided to suspend the provision of macro-financial assistance and it was announced that the future electoral process will be monitored. The resolution brings nothing new except for the extension of the critical part. The criticism is much harsher and refers especially to political aspects of life in the Republic of Moldova, political analyst Cornel Ciurea said in the public debate “Impact of the European Parliament’s Resolution of 14.11.2018 on Moldovan political class and society”, which was the 96th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture through public debates”, staged by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.
“Surely, I’m tempted to believe that the European Parliament and, in general, the European bodies dominated by the European Peoples Party started to excessively politicize the approach towards the Republic of Moldova and not only. We saw that the day before yesterday they discussed a lot in Romania the European Commission’s report within the cooperation and verification mechanism and saw the same somehow unclear reaction in Romanian society and particular anger on the part of the ruling police class there. We witnessed the same in our country,” he stated.
Cornel Ciurea said that when it is about politicization, particular assessments come in the spotlight and generate confusion as the criticism is not clearly aimed. For example, the European Parliament suggests reallocating funds to civil society, the independent press and not only, but such a move is strange and reveals particular politicization tendencies. Also, the EP asks to publish the second Kroll report and the appropriateness of such a suggestion is disputable.
“The criticism of the political developments is yet unilateral and, from my viewpoint, betrays the vision of the parties of the right. For me, it is clear that there is a powerful influence exerted by our parties of the right on the EPP. The parties ruling in Romanian said the same thing. A somehow similar situation is witnessed in Poland and in other states of the European Union, but the attitude to the Republic of Moldova is harsher, I repeat,” stated the analyst. He added he does not believe that this criticism will turn into concrete actions to penalize Moldova and this is rather an intention to build a favorable passageway for the parties of the right in the upcoming elections.
As to the text of the resolution, the analyst said this and other assessments were carried out, as many said, not based on serious field appraisals. In fact, the EU often showed inefficiency in the correct and objective assessment of the situation in the countries it monitors. “Even the theft of the US$ 1 billion occurred under the very severe surveillance of the European institutions that said they follow attentively. The feelings is that these assessments about the theft of the US$ 1 billion and the processes underway in the Republic of Moldova are influenced politically by the speeches of persons who have a subjective view and are not based on a correct evaluation,” stated the analyst.
Cornel Ciurea said the EU had a very strange position on the invalidation of the elections, when it said that the political power should intervene to repair the judicial error. This is an absolutely inadmissible assessment in a state with the rule of law that was conducted by the European institutions with legerity. “There is an assessment problem and the European Union should assume the analysis of the situations existing in Moldova, Ukraine, Poland and other states. The enumerated states also defend the European values that the EU sometimes forgets to support,” he noted.
Cornel Ciurea also said the text of the resolution is not at all trenchant and it is not clear what sanctions will be imposed against the county if the recommendations are not respected and it is not clear if those sections will be imposed given that the EU does not have experience in this regard. It is yet certain that the visa free regime will not be suspended.
Speaking about the Resolution’s impact on the European idea in the Republic of Moldova, the political analyst said he believes this impact will be electoral in character. The opposition parties, especially those of the right, and the Socialists will make reference to this document. Regrettably, the European idea became much weaker owing to the inefficiency of the government of the last nine years and to the poor understanding in Brussels of what the European idea in the Republic of Moldova means. At the same time, for Moldova the “pro-Moldova” message is decisive because the country should think about the own national interests. “The fact that they now discover more cases of foreign interference and secret financing on the part of foreign oligarchs, including involving NGOs that apparently defend values, but in reality play the games of states with values that are not at all European, makes us think about the safety of our life and less about these values that sometimes are not defended even by the EU,” concluded Cornel Ciurea.
The debate “Impact of the European Parliament’s Resolution of 14.11.2018 on Moldovan political class and society” forms part of the series of public debates held by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova as part of the project “Developing political culture through public debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
