Half of the 35 actions stipulated in the plan for meeting the conditions proposed by the European Commission were fulfilled, said secretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Vladimir Cuc. According to him, most of the implemented actions implied the adoption of laws or regulations needed to ensure the proper functioning of institutions, IPN reports.
Together with the obtaining of the EU candidate status by Moldova, the European Commission recommended implementing nine basic conditions that refer to the justice sector reform, faults in the electoral legislation, fight against corruption and organized crime, recovery of assets, public services, public administration reform, fight against gender-based violence, etc. The secretary of state said the action plan for meeting these conditions was 50% implemented.
“The action plan was adopted in August 2022 and is to be implemented during a year. Half of the 35 actions must be implemented by the end of this year, while the rest will be dealt with next year. Eighteen actions were carried out or are close to completion. For example, the legal framework of the Superior Council of Magistracy was strengthened, legislation on the examination of candidates for the National Institute of Justice was approved, the law on the prosecution service was adjusted in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, the new Electoral Code was recently approved,” Vladimir Cuc stated in the program “Common Objective” on TVR Moldova channel.
According to him, the crises experienced by Moldova hamper the implementation of the action plan, but the authorities will not deviate from the schedule agreed with the European partners.
“Many of the actions of this plan are laws, strategies, but there are also aspects that will be measured in statistical data. The permanent crises we encounter impede the implementation process. The reduced administrative capacities of the authorities are another barrier and this vulnerability was mentioned also by our European partners. Works has been done in this regard already and the number of functionaries dealing with policy analysis and in divisions that work out laws and regulations has been increased,” said Vladimir Cuc.
European integration experts noted the reformation of the law enforcement agencies and ensuring of independence of justice will matter the most in the European Commission’s assessment.
“First of all, emphasis will be laid on the strengthening of the law enforcement agencies. The condition concerning deoligarchization is another important feature that is closely related to the rule of law and fair justice. All the sectors will be assessed by the European institutions and I think the Commission will devote greater attention to the institutional capacities,” said expert of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms Adrian Ermurachi.
On June 23, 2022, the Republic of Moldova was granted the EU candidate states alongside Ukraine. Georgia, which also applied for EU membership, had its accession perspective recognized.
