Granting the first tranche of macro-financial assistance represents a strong recognition of the EU's confidence in the Chisinau government. The European institutions highlighted the fulfillment of political preconditions, and among other things they referred to the sectoral conditions, writes political scientist Dionis Cenușa in an analytical article for the IPN Agency.
European appreciation derives primarily from the high degree of intentionality of the government of Maia Sandu, rather than from evaluating the overall performance of all branches of power in Chisinau, explains Dionis Cenuşa.
Actually, according to the political scientist, none of the 10 mandatory conditions for the first tranche (out of a total of 28 measures) are reflected punctually neither in the parliamentary dimension’s performance (the laws adopted during the period July-October 2019) nor in the government's report on at the first "100 days".
He believes that the 10 conditions necessary to disburse the first tranche were met during the period of the oligarchic regime in 2018, including conditions for tranches II and III. However, its credibility was shattered by the cancellation of the vote in Chisinau in the spring of the same year.
Dionis Cenușa believes that the pro-active approach of the new governance in the field of reforms has had a decisive influence on the EU decision, along with the fulfillment of political preconditions.
Therefore, the Europeans counted the technical steps (carried out since 2018, under the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc), as well as the abundance and integrity of the political will, symbolized by the reforming character of Maia Sandu, for the execution of those commitments, the political scientist believes.
So far, neither the European side nor the Chisinau government has publicly disclosed, in what exact sector and in what way, the new leadership has corrected the deviations committed by the previous government, explains Dionis Cenuşa.
The political scientist suggests that in order to exclude the elements of misinformation and public manipulation, both the EU and the government of Chisinau should ensure full transparency regarding the fulfillment of the sectoral conditions.
The merit and contribution of the bloc ACUM, together with the Socialists, is to guarantee the element of sincerity, dedication and political integrity in order to carry out, with the necessary corrections, the reforms started in the period 2017-2018, emphasizes Dionis Cenuşa.
At the same time, between the tranches and before the third tranche is granted, a constant and consistent assessment of the developments related to political preconditions, including how the government transposes the recommendations of the Venice Commission, is obligatory, the political scientist concludes.
