Freedom of media, fight against corruption and investment climate in Moldova dissatisfy EU

The Progress Reports of those 12 countries with which the European Union signed Partnership and Cooperation Agreements were made public at Brussels on Thursday, April 3. At a news conference broadcasted live for Moldovan journalists by the European Commission Delegation to Chisinau, European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has said UE will start “a reflection on a new agreement, going beyond the current partnership and cooperation agreement”. „I must say Moldova has shown strong political will to advance further”, says the Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. “I visited Moldova in February and we have clearly discussed that more emphasis has to be laid on freedom of press, but also on fight against corruption and also improvement to the investment climate. It is progress that has been made but we’re not completely satisfied”, Benita Ferero-Waldner said. The EU instituted a special fund (Governance facility) in amount of 50 million euros it grants to the countries displaying remarkable commitment in implementing the Action Plans. In 2007 the fund was shared between Ukraine and Morocco, and for 2008, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner will propose that the money is shared to Moldova as well. The Report evaluating the way in which Moldova has implemented its tasks from within the Moldova-EU Action Plan mentions that “in spite of progress made, effective implementation of reforms remains a challenge. This is particularly true in the areas of judicial reform and the fight against corruption as well as ensuring media freedom and improving the business and investment climate”. The Report requires that the correct implementation of the Broadcasting Code in a manner which promotes the plurality of the media has to be ensured. The editorial independence of Teleradio Moldova should be ensured in practice. Legislation on licensing of broadcasters should be respected and applied in a transparent, predictable and proportional manner. While the Republic of Moldova recorded in 2007 an increase of foreign direct investments, there are still barriers to establishment, in particular due to the heavy and sometimes arbitrary administrative requirements and controls imposed on investors In 2007, the European Commission committed €45 million in special macro-financial assistance to Moldova following problems related to gas- and wine-crisis. After the drought of summer 2007, the Commission was also the largest donor to the international effort with €3 million in assistance. A further significant increase (the most important of any European Neighborhood Policy country) is foreseen for the period 2007-2010 – to over €250 million in total, under the European Neighborhood Policy Instrument. Aid per capita for Moldova will be almost €15 per person per year which is the highest in the region (after the occupied Palestinian territory).