Revision of present political-legal framework between Moldova and EU depends on the way in which Moldova manages to fulfill overdue commitments, say foreign policy experts

The meeting of Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso held on January 14 is in essence an epilog of the visit made by the head of state to Brussels in December 2007, when he could not meet with the European official, Victor Chirila, programme director of the Foreign Policy Association, told Info-Prim Neo. Judging by the statements made by the European official at the end of the meeting, the dialogue was constructive and positive. The two officials discussed the relations between Moldova and the European Union and the Transnistrian dispute. The European Commission’s messages to the Moldovan authorities expressed by Jose Manuel Barroso remained unchanged. As regards Moldova’s relations with the EU, there is a greater certitude that after the EU-Moldova Action Plan expires this February, it will be extended for another year, Chirila said. The European Commission considers that though the Moldovan authorities made significant progress in adopting a number of laws that meet the European standards, the Action Plan was not fully implemented, Moldova lagging behind in carrying out reforms in such important areas as human rights, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the media, fighting corruption. Yet, Barroso did not rule out that the EU could later take steps to qualitatively review the present political-legal framework between Moldova and the European Union. “We consider that the moment when the revision will take place depends greatly on the way in which Moldova implements the overdue reforms,” Victor Chirila said. As to the Transnistrian conflict, it seems that Vladimir Voronin obtained the European Commission’s support, at least verbal, for his proposals designed to build confidence between Chisinau and Tiraspol, which were made public last autumn, the cited source said.