IPN on June 12 published an OP-ED-entitled “Role of President Dodon for Russia and implications for European integration” signed by expert in political sciences Dionis Cenusa. According to the author, the main obstacles in the European integration process reside in the actions of the government, which does not stop to center on the own narrow and temporary political interests, while the pace at which the President of Moldova Igor Dodon implements his pro-Russian agenda surprises. The politologist describes three possible scenarios for the development of Moldova’s relations with the EU and Russia. According to the first scenario, Moldova, with Igor Dodon as President and the Party of Socialists controlling the Government and Parliament, terminates the current Association Agreement/DCFTA and joins the Eurasian Economic Union. According to the second scenario, President Dodon and the Socialists develop the relationship with the Eurasian Union, but do not scrap the Association Agreement and the DCFTA. The third scenario is negative for Russia and envisions the repeat by Igor Dodon of the actions of Vladimir Voronin, who, even if he agreed the Kozak Memorandum with the Russian side in 2013, refused to sign it. New sanctions on the part of Russia would follow in this case.
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The automotive sector of the Republic of Moldova has potential. During the last few years, it became one of the most dynamic sectors, Vitalie Zaharia, director of the Moldova Investment Attraction and Export Promotion Organization, said in the ceremony to open the international forum “Moldova Automotive Days”. According to Vitalie Zaharia, the presence of international automotive parts manufacturers in the Republic of Moldova has a beneficial effect. The sector contributed to the development of the Moldovan economy and to the creation of a significant number of jobs. Attending the event, Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Pirkka Tapiola said that Moldova has increasing chances to become an industrialized country. „The extension of the automotive industry can be one of the main pillars of economic development,” stated the European diplomat.
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The United Nations Development Program in Moldova and the European Investment Bank confirmed their readiness to financially support energy efficiency projects in the public and residential sectors. In a meeting of Deputy Minister of Economy Vitalie Iurcu and representatives of UNDP and EIB in Moldova, the interlocutors exchanged information about the progress made in thinking up and implementing the project “Unlocking Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit Market in Moldova”. Dafina Gercheva, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Moldova, said the UNDP, as an agency accredited to the Green Climate Fund, will submit the proposal to finance the given project to the Fund in June and will shortly obtain a position of principle on the opportunity of implementing such an initiative in the Republic of Moldova and of subsequently developing all the operational and administrative mechanisms and arrangements.
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The pace of implementing the nation al plan of action in the media sector, undertaken as part of the Moldova – EU Association Agreement, needs to be accelerated. The document should also be reviewed and supplemented so that it covers the whole media sector, says the first minoring report by the Association of Independent Press (API). Media expert of the monitoring team Ion Bunduchi said the measures planned to be taken in the field of the media in 2014-2016 were insufficient and weren’t in full compliance with the provisions of the Association Agreement. Media expert Aneta Gonta said the way in which the measures were carried out in March – May 2017 shows that the implementation pace of the national plan of action should be accelerated. Two steps are to be taken during three months. This does not testify to a firm commitment to accelerate the implementation of the Association Agreement’s provisions concerning the media sector.
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The Moldovans cannot and do not have “geopolitical genes” in the genetic code. However, almost the whole political class of the Republic of Moldova counts a lot on the geopolitical sympathies and antipathies of Moldovan society, usually between the East and the West, and even have exploited and stimulated these rather successfully during a long period of time in the history of Moldova as an independent state. And this means that, if not at the level of genes, Moldovan society has yet something very important and very ponderable at the level of features, qualities and interests, something related to the cultural heritage, eventually, in terms of geopolitics. In economic terms, this means “geopolitical demand” that enables the political parties and politicians to come up with different “geopolitical offers” that are often contradictory, said participants in the public debate: “Geopolitical genes” of Moldovans: between myth and reality” that was organized by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.The standing expert of IPN’s project Igor Botan said that during their eight-year government, the Communists promised they will integrate the country into the Russia-Belarus Union, but did very important things for coming closer to the European Union. “In the end, after eight years of government, the so-called pro-Europeans came to power and these disappointed the people. Figures show that when the Communists governed, 75% of the citizens were in favor of the European integration. The situation has yet changed radically after eight years of government by pro-Europeans and these are the results of the government,” he stated.
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The geopolitical impact in the Republic of Moldova persists, but this is normal because geopolitics is a discipline that takes into consideration the geographical position for solving problems related to the socioeconomic development and security. “Metaphorically speaking, Moldova is a small island that oscillates between two tectonic plates – the European and the Eurasian one. But it can be easily smashed if it does not try to join one plate or another. Moldova oscillates between the European and Eurasian plates because it needs to ensure its socioeconomic development and national security, analyst Igor Botan stated in a public debate at IPN. “From geopolitical viewpoint, the Republic of Moldova for the European Union is a source of problems related to trafficking in people, organs, arms, drugs and others and thus proposed a plan of action for Moldova and offered support for development so that the people stayed at home and didn’t invade Europe. We accepted, signed documents and then our political elites started to do what everyone knows,” explained the expert.
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As a science, geopolitics today is less professed and is associated more with such terms as populism, political parties that go through a crisis, manipulation of the public opinion by information placed in a wrong context and others. The so-called geopolitical slogans are often used in a demagogical way in political context, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Viorel Cibotaru said in the public debate: “Geopolitical genes” of Moldovans: between myth and reality” that was staged by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova. According to the Lib-Dem, ideally, there should be used methods free from such notions as course to the West and course to the East so as to come closer to the reality and avoid manipulation and populism. “No one in Washington, Brussels, Bucharest, Ukraine or Moscow will build our internal policies, will help us or will prevent us from solving people’s problems. Any attempt to say it is the hand of Moscow, the hand of Washington or the hand of Bucharest is manipulation, demagogy and misinformation,” stated Viorel Cibotaru.
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The Moldovans have a vital necessity to build a stable picture of the world, but this is rather difficult owing to the psycho-social context related to instability, variations and difficulties in Moldova and the whole ex-Soviet area, Irina Caunenco, doctor of psychology of the Cultural Heritage Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, said in the public debate: “Geopolitical genes” of Moldovans: between myth and reality” that was organized by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova. According to her, the people analyze the relations of Moldova with countries from the East or the West in practical terms. The people try to determine in what country it is more profitable to work from economic viewpoint – Russia or the UK?
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In Moldova, there is no communication in parts between the subjects with a geopolitical impact – promoters of the orientation to the East and promoters of the orientation to the West and between them and society. Currently, we are witness to inefficient communication and, unfortunately, it seems that there are several parallel worlds, Angela Kolatski, lecturer at the Department of Political and Administrative Sciences of the State University of Moldova, said in the public debate “Geopolitical genes” of Moldovans: between myth and reality” that was staged by IPN and Radio Moldova. According to the lecturer, it is a myth that this division between the East and the West is recent as the Roman Empire was actually divided into the Eastern part and the Western part and our ancestors were at the limit of the two. Angela Kolatski said two worlds meet in the Republic of Moldova – the Western one and the Asian one – and these both exist in any Moldovan.
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Moldova is an object of the geopolitical games, not yet a subject of these. The geopolitical players are the states that can pursue an independent economic policy and can thus influence the foreign policy. Today the West will not allow Moldova to pursue a foreign economic policy and strengthening its neutrality is the only thing that Moldova can do in this case, Socialist MP Vlad Batrancea stated in a public debate entitled “Geopolitical genes” of Moldovans: between myth and reality”. The debate was organized by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova. “Moldova’s involvement in a formula imposed from outside often determines the internal political processes,” stated Vlad Batrancea. According to him, when someone is trying to use information technologies and censorship and to intervene in neutrality, society divides into two. Moldova should keep its neutrality and should serve as a bridge between two civilizations and should not allow someone to impose a geopolitical agenda on it.
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The Ukrainians deserved the liberalization of the visa regime following the work done by the government in Kyiv, which had to carry out over 100 measures required by the European Union, Mihail Harishin, adviser on consular affairs at the Embassy of Ukraine in Chisinau, said in a news conference. According to the adviser, the June 11 decision on the liberalization of the visa regime with the EU is a historical event for the European course of Ukraine. “The visa-free regime with the EU wasn’t a present. Ukraine made effort and met 104 conditions and reforms go on so that we swifter join the European family from which we were excluded without our will 350 years ago,” stated Mihail Harishin. Now that the visa requirements were abolished, the Ukrainians will be able to travel in the EU visa free, without the right to work, for a period of at most 90 days during half a year.
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Over 1700 persons from Bugeac village, Comrat rayon will enjoy access to safe drinking water, as a water supply system was inaugurated in their community. The water supply network and a new water tower were built with financial assistance provided by the European Union and contribution of local and regional public authorities, under the EU-funded Program “Support for Agriculture and Rural Development in ATU Gagauzia and Taraclia” (SARD), implemented by the UNDP. An amount of €75,700 was invested to perform all the works, out of which €62,700 was provided by the European Union. Also, a kindergarten was inaugurated in Cealic village, Taraclia rayon. The roof of the kindergarten was changed, an extension of the building was built and all the premises were thermally insulated. The total cost of these is of €72,000, out of which €59,700 represents the assistance provided by the European Union.
The summary of news from the IPN series “European Integration” is produced with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany and can be further disseminated on condition that the source is indicated.