Marius Lazurca: 2011 was a successful year for Moldova’s foreign policy

[Info-Prim Neo article from the series “2011: the way it was and the way it wasn't”] {“Moldova closer to the EU?”- the opinion of the Romanian Ambassador in Chisinau Marius Lazurca} Moldova obtained some remarkable results thanks to the current government’s hard work, insistence, courage and ambition. This was confirmed at the last summit of the Eastern Partnership, which is the format of collaboration between the EU and its Eastern neighbors. 2011 was a successful year for Moldova’s foreign policy and we can have big hopes for 2012”, the Romanian Ambassador in Chisinau Marius Lazurca told Info-Prim Neo. According to him, Moldova was highlighted as a success story of the EU at the last summit of the Eastern Partnership, when the decision regarding the immediate commencement of negotiations about a Free Trade Agreement was adopted. Another decision concerned the faster progress to stage two of the visa dialogue. An important achievement for the Moldovan government and citizens is the approving a few months ago of the Airspace Agreement between Moldova and the EU. The document will be signed in February 2012 and, according to Marius Lazurca, will rapidly bring benefits for Moldovans traveling by plane. [Negotiations must be carried from firm positions] The ambassador finds it hard to estimate the reaction of member states to Moldova’s goal of signing the Free Trade Agreement. “The answer of member countries depends on the internal political situation of each member, on the stable or precarious balance in their parliaments or governments. Some governments in the EU are based on solid parliamentary majorities. Others are coalition governments and depend on partners, some of which don’t endorse EU expansion processes and EU’s opening towards neighbors”, explained the diplomat. However, he claims that Moldova’s goal is not only ambitious, but reachable as well. “I think Moldova is right to set a deadline for this goal. Some governments may find it realistic, others not. In order to be convincing, Moldovan authorities must be resolute and to negotiate their goals from positive and firm positions”, said the ambassador. [The voting proves the pro-European attitude] Marius Lazurca questioned polls showing that Moldovans lose their trust in the EU. He thinks it is very difficult to measure people’s attitude towards issues as complex as the European one. “I’m skeptical about these data and I remain confident that the main tool to measure the Moldovans’ pro-European attitude is the voting”, he said. Marius Lazurca argued that since 2009 a series or early and local elections proved the majority of voters were oriented towards the EU and associated Moldova’s future with the EU. Through its vote, this majority affirms it wants the following generations in Moldova to live in a fully European country. [Two different realities] Asked about the Eurasian option preferred by some political forces in Chisinau, Marius Lazurca said he could not compare an existing political establishment with a project that remains largely unknown. “We cannot compare a political establishment that is half a century old, which started from a small core of Western countries and expanded nearly to the whole continent and is the world’s most socially safe and economically advanced zone, with a project that doesn’t have a clear form or future. We don’t know what will be its institutional architecture or how it will function. I think it’s a hazardous action and I doubt it will produce impressive results.” The ambassador explained he could not use the same weights for the EU and for an unclear idea. “It’s wrong to have the people of any country to choose between two very different things”, he said. [Priorities and expectations] One of the most important projects mentioned by the ambassador is the common meeting of the Moldovan and Romanian governments. “The significance of this meeting is not only that of a signal that Moldova is ready to adopt this perfectly European tool of common meeting of governments. Secondly, it’s a signal that we want to sign the common Plan of Actions for the Implementation of the Declaration of Strategic Partnership for Moldova’s European Integration”, said Marius Lazurca. He added that the Plan will include not only concrete goals, but also deadlines and funds as well. According to him, 2012 should bring some convincing results in common strategic projects. The most important ones are meant to strengthen Moldova’s energy status or to raise the country’s level of energy security. “To reach it, Moldova needs to diversify energy sources and to connect to European networks. This will be dome through Romania because it’s Moldova’s only EU neighbor. That’s why it’s so important that the construction of the Ungheni-Iasi gas pipe starts in 2012. The necessary national and European funds have been found. We also want the high voltage lines to be finalized or at least some significant progress to be achieved in this direction. The whole process will increase Moldova’s energy security and autonomy”, said the ambassador. [Lessons to learn] The Romanian Ambassador in Chisinau said that the thing Moldova can learn from Romania is about fundamental strategic orientation. “I’m very glad that since July 2009 Moldova has opened towards Romania’s experience and decided to accept it. This experience has both positive and negative parts, errors we made and are ready to share. The main thing we could tell our brothers from Moldova is that at the beginning of the 90s the whole Romanian political class met in Snagov and debated the question: Which should be Romania’s fundamental strategic orientation”, said the diplomat. The answer was integration into the EU and NATO. Marius Lazurca stressed that since the Snagov Declaration all the social and political forces in Romania focused on achieving these goals. Successes and failures followed, sometimes it was easier, at times it was more difficult, but the final goals were achieved nevertheless. [Irina Turcanu, Info-Prim Neo]