Even if the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine together received the candidate country status, the European integration process will not be similar for the two states, said Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan. According to him, if the Republic of Moldova makes progress in doing reforms, accession negotiations can start next year. If Moldova manages to develop and to modernize itself, its European path will not depend on the developments in Ukraine, IPN reports.
On June 23, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine were granted the candidate country status by the European Council, while Georgia had its accession perspective recognized. Siegfried Mureșan said the EU accession pace of Moldova now depends on the pace of reforms.
“Each state will make progress according to the own merits. Regardless of the situation in Ukraine, if the Republic of Moldova reforms itself, it will stand to gain. And vice versa. If politicians who do not fulfill their commitments and try to mislead the Republic of Moldova’s partners come to power in the Republic of Moldova, as earlier, confidence will not exist and the accession pace will be slow. If the Republic of Moldova makes progress faster than Ukraine, it will not be kept stagnant by Ukraine,” MEP Siegfried Mureșan stated in an interview with Radio Moldova.
Moreover, the official said the candidate country status was obtained in a record period of time and this shows that if there is political will in Chisinau and Brussels, the European integration of the Republic of Moldova can take place swiftly. The implementation of the reforms recommended by the European Commission should be the Moldovan authorities’ priority. Among the key areas are the justice sector, corruption fighting and organized crime, de-oligarchization, the public administration reform and public services, management of public finances, strengthening of the role of civil society in decision-making processes and protection of human rights.
“As regards the recommendations of the European Union, progress has been made here. The authorities of the Republic of Moldova adopted a plan of action saying when and how these reforms will be done. The way in which we will move towards the next stages depends on the implementation of these reforms. The European Commission will need to produce a report and the accession negotiations can be opened then. So, everything depends on the way in which the implementation of the reforms recommended by the European Commission is launched. The negotiations can start next year, but this is not essential. What is essential is to do reforms and to help each other, especially in the energy, humanitarian crisis situations so as to improve citizens’ lives,” said the Romanian MEP.
As to the protests mounted recently in Moldova, Siegfried Mureșan said those who incite the people to such demonstrations showed that they do not have solutions for the country. These protests are not organic or natural and the people are pushed to take to the streets, being few in number.
