The Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit where Moldova is to initial the Association Agreement with the EU has two stakes, an internal one and an external one. At internal level, the ruling politicians need a success that is to be presented to the voters and they see this success in the Vilnius Summit, MP Igor Dodon, who heads the Party of Socialists, said in the public debate “Stake of the Vilnius Summit as perceived by the Moldovan political class and society” that was organized by IPN.
“The Vilnius Summit is a very important subject. It is a large-scale event that forms the political and geopolitical agendas. The stake of the authorities is simple – after four years they must come with something. The European vector was greatly compromised by the Alliance for European Integration. Now they must come at least with a success and with a new promise. We consider that the Vilnius Summit is a good stage for showing that nothing changed,” said Igor Dodon.
He also said that after the Vilnius Summit the people will not be surer in tomorrow, the salaries and pensions will not rise and the Moldovans will not stop to go abroad. “The disappointment and compromising of the European vector can be greater. I urge the rulers to be attentive to what they say and promise,” stated the lawmaker.
The second, external stake of the Vilnius Summit is the Eastern Partnership itself, which needs a success. “It seems that the partnership didn’t achieve many successes. The foreign partners need to show that Moldova is a success story. The bureaucrats from Brussels want to show success stories. Why don’t you ask the people where they want Moldova to go? In the next 8-10 years Moldova will form part of no union. We should for 8 years deal with sociopolitical problems and the country’s reintegration and then should hold a referendum to see where the people want to go,” said the Socialist MP.
Igor Dodon is indignant that the content of the Association Agreement is not made public. He said he saw several chapters concerning the creation of the Free Trade Area and identified contradictions. “The people want to live better and they do not really care what union Moldova will join. Most of them want workplaces, salaries, a safe future for them and their children. If Moldova signs the Free Trade Agreement with the EU, which is not compatible with the Free Trade Agreement with the CIS, what will we do with the 100,000 tonnes of apples that we export to Russia?” he asked. He added that Moldova should work on its internal development for several years and then see if it needs to join the European Union or the Eurasian Union.
The public debate “Stake of the Vilnius Summit as perceived by the Moldovan political class and society” is the 22nd of the series of debates “Development of political culture by public debates” that are staged with support from the German Foundation “Hanns Seidel”.
