International experts recommend increasing EU role in Transnistria settlement

A group of international experts, including from Moldova, have put forward a series of recommendations to increase the EU role in settling the Transnistria dispute following a brainstorming meeting in Brussels together with EU officials in December 2007. The participants identified actions and projects the EU could undertake in the short and medium term in order to advance the settlement of the Transnistria conflict, Info-Prim Neo learned from a communique released by the Moldova Foundation. The experts recommend the EU to make Moldova attractive to the Transnistrian population. They advise the EU to negotiate a Deep Free Trade Agreement with Moldova providing access for Moldovan goods and services to the EU market as broadly as possible. As negotiations might be protracted, in the interim the EU should conclude a simple Free Trade Agreement. This should boost foreign direct investment flows to Moldova and encourage Transnistrian business to act according to Moldovan legislation. The experts also recommend the EU to provide visa-free travel to all Moldovan citizens, including those from the Eastern region and to establish legal employment schemes for Moldovans in the EU by concluding a Circular Migration and Mobility Partnership with Moldova as a pilot project. The EU should also extend the benefits of its programmes and the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) assistance to the Transnistrian region, the experts consider. However, the EU should avoid launching special programmes for the Transnistrian region; rather programmes should cover both communities and facilitate their cooperation to achieve unification objectives. The proposals include the initiation of a visiting programme for young professionals - short term internships for representatives of Moldovan business, including from the Eastern region, at European enterprises. The EU should support cultural, sporting and scientific exchanges between member states and Moldova, and provide greater scholarship opportunities. As the experts consider, the EU and U.S. should be ready to provide a safety net without delay to counterbalance the negative effects of eventual moves of the Moldovan Government to initiate commercial litigation against the new owners of illegally privatised Transnistrian enterprises. Such action would probably provoke Russia’s retaliation (imposing visa regime to Moldovans, further exports restrictions, increasing the price or interruption of gas and oil supply), the experts say. The EU should support Moldova in developing a long term country unification strategy; unification on bad terms and at any price should be avoided. In the meantime democratic and economic development on the West side, and democratization of the Eastern region, should be prioritised. As concerns security, the experts believe that the EU should extend the mandate of EUBAM by gradually increasing its competences and the number of deployed personnel. Supported by Moldova and the U.S., the EU should seek an agreement with Russia and Ukraine to change the format of peace-keeping operations into a Multinational Force and Civilian Observers. The EU should be ready to deploy a European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) mission to Moldova when the agreement is reached. The EU and U.S. should use their leverage on Russia to secure the withdrawal of its military arsenal and troops from Moldova’s Transnistrian region, the international experts consider.