In the upcoming European Parliament elections, the European People’s Party group and the Democrats & Socialists are likely to remain the largest groups, with the difference that this time they will likely lose their combined majority and will have to negotiate with a third group, perhaps the Liberals, to form institutions. As such, says Ion Tăbârță of the think-tank IDIS Viitorul, the developments in the European Parliament as a supranational entity will not change much.
“The only difference is that the Liberal element could be added to the leadership of the European Parliament, alongside the EPP Group and the Social-Democrats. Otherwise, I think that the EU is going through this internal struggle to overcome its existing problems, including Brexit, the migrants and so on”, Tăbârță commented during a debate on EU elections and their implications for Moldova.
According to the expert, we will have to wait until later this year to see the tendencies of the future EU foreign policy and how it will change, if at all. For Moldova, Ion Tăbârță thinks it’s important that the EU rethinks its institutional approach towards the Eastern Partnership as part of the neighborhood policy. Still, in this part of Europe it is likely that Ukraine will grab most of EU’s attention. “The way the Ukrainian agenda will unfold will probably shape Moldova’s outlook as well”. Last not least, Moldova’s internal developments will also be an important factor in shaping the Moldova-EU relationship.
According to Ion Tăbârță, Moldova should focus on what happens within, “while citizens should find more leverage to make the political class hear what they have to say. The process of getting closer to the EU depends on this”.
Ion Tăbârță urged Moldovans with Romanian citizenship or other EU nationalities to go and vote in the upcoming elections, “because any electoral poll is a democratic exercise and the only way to impose accountability on decision-makers”.
“European Parliament elections, implications for Moldova” is the 110th installment of the Developing Political Culture through Public Debates Series implemented by IPN, in partnership with Radio Moldova, and with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.