Voronin expects signal from Brussels

“It is very important that we get a clear political signal from Brussels that it supports our country on the path to European integration,” Moldova’s outgoing president Vladimir Voronin said Thursday at the meeting of the National Commission for European Integration, Info-Prim Neo reports. The head of state said that this signal would create an atmosphere of trust both for those that rule the country and for the ordinary people. “This wish is not a speculation or an attempt to solve the problems through the agency of someone else. We are aware that there is yet a lot of work to do to modernize all the spheres of life and of the economy and the internal behavior. Otherwise, we will not be able to become a truly European state. Everyone understands this. We are ready to show firmness and mobilize all the capacities that we have to fully implement the new agreement in the shortest period of time possible,” Vladimir Voronin said. He also said that this agreement should be an association agreement that would provide a wider free trade regime with the EU and free movement for the Moldovan people to the EU, “not through Romanian passports”. Speaking about the Eastern Partnership, Vladimir Voronin said that Moldova has had a cautious attitude towards this initiative. “We have not yet expressed a clear position on it because we do not know all its aspects. Tomorrow, I will have a discussion with the foreign minister of Lithuania on this topic and we’ll see how we can engage and what will be the result of this engagement.” He said that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan will represent Moldova at the Prague summit where the Eastern Partnership will be launched. The meting participants were familiarized with the conclusions of the report on the progress in implementing the EU-Moldova Plan of Action in 2008 released by the European Commission on April 23, 2009. According to Andrei Stratan, the report highlights positive results in restructuring and modernizing the judicial system and in strengthening cooperation with the EU Border Assistance Mission and other European organizations in the promotion of confidence building measures between the two banks of the Nistru. Also, it pointed to the lack of progress in ensuring the human rights and freedoms and the freedom of the media and in solving the problems related to the working and regulation of the market by the state.