10th Edition of the Moldova European Integration Forum: “Key Steps for Advancing Moldova’s EU accession negotiations”
The Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Moldova (FES), in cooperation with the Foreign Policy Association and the Soros Foundation Moldova, and in partnership with the Bureau for European Integration of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, organized, on Tuesday, 26th of November 2024, the 10th edition of the Moldova European Integration Forum “Key Steps for Advancing Moldova’s EU accession negotiations”.
The first panel, moderated by Mădălin Necșuțu, Journalist, TVR Moldova, was dedicated to the current dynamics regarding the accession process of the Republic of Moldova to the EU. We propose below some theses from the speakers’ interventions.
Cristina Gherasimov, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of the Republic of Moldova: “It is our duty to capitalize on the window of opportunity that we now have in our relationship with the EU and to make every effort to join this community. In this process, civil society experts are of real use, because they bring expertise and essential contributions to the process. We have completed cluster 1, which is related to fundamental values, and the European Commission’s conclusion is that we are better prepared than they expected. Now we are waiting for the first screening report that will be submitted at the beginning of next year and we hope that in the first half of next year the member states will agree to open negotiations on cluster 1 for us.”
Janis Mazeiks, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova: “The good news is that the Republic of Moldova does not have too many outstanding chapters in the recently published second country report – most chapters have registered progress. At this stage, we have no emergencies, we need stability and constant effort in concrete areas over the coming years. The most important thing that the Republic of Moldova has already done is that it has made progress on most of the negotiation chapters. The reality is that in the last 3 years the Republic of Moldova has made remarkable progress, even if much remains to be done.”
Siegfried Mureșan, Member of the European Parliament: “The result of the EU accession referendum and the presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova is an impetus for the accession negotiations. We are aware of the attempts of the Russian Federation to bring the referendum to failure and we greatly appreciated in Brussels the resilience of the Moldovan citizens, and this will lead to even more support for Chișinău”.
Ion Sturza, President of the Board of Directors, Foreign Policy Association: “Historically: The Republic of Moldova has not performed in the past in modernizing the country, which is why it is obvious that the EU’s decision to open negotiations with the Republic of Moldova is a political one. This is why a huge effort is needed to bring the country, economically and socially, to the level of EU countries. We have a great advantage on our path to the EU that we should not be ashamed to use – Romania–, which has already traveled this path and can share its experience with us, including the failures that we could thus avoid”.
Iulian Groza, Executive Director, Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE): “The foundation of progress towards the EU and economic stability is how the judiciary functions – how independent it is, how capable it is of creating a predictable framework for investors and of boosting the fight against corruption. We are living in a period of geopolitical turbulence, but the Republic of Moldova was not alone, and our European partners saw in Chisinau strong and open institutions that could face the challenges.”
The second panel, moderated by Mariana Rață, Journalist, TV8, focused on discussions on ensuring a transparent and inclusive decision-making process to advance the European agenda of the Republic of Moldova. We propose below some theses from the speakers’ interventions.
Ana Calinici, Secretary of State, State Chancellery of the Government of the Republic of Moldova: “Civil society is involved in the EU accession process and we make a good team together. Civil society experts are involved in the working groups and participate in monitoring the screening process. We need to team up with all the forces in society and involve them in the decision-making process. We need to educate society so that people see that each person’s opinion matters. We need broad, door-to-door, and person-to-person discusions, as well as public consultations in order to explain the efforts made by the authorities.”
Denis Cenușă, Political Analyst, Associate Expert at the Center for Eastern European Studies, Lithuania and Expert-Grup, Moldova: “The Republic of Moldova is still at a crossroads, where it wants to understand whether European integration is an elitist project or one that includes all citizens. One of the pillars of this dilemma is the lack of understanding that every yard or household can be an actor in the European integration process. In the Moldovan households there are two problems – polarization, including at the family level, and pauperization. Poverty leads to division. 31% of society lives in absolute poverty – how convinced will these people be of the benefits of European integration?”
Nicolae Panfil, Program Director, Promo-LEX Association: “As a civil society, we have a lot of work to do in monitoring and getting more involved in the decision-making process, but especially in putting pressure on the authorities to be more transparent and take our recommendations into account, because only 30% of the documents consulted took our suggestions into account.”
Cristina Ciubotaru, Justice and Anti-Corruption Expert, Association of Administrative Lawyers: “The justice reform is the most important reform undertaken by the current government and where in recent times it is increasingly recognized that there are problems. The problems are presented from the perspective that the system is opposing. But there is another explanation – the lack of consultations and transparency in the decision-making processes in justice reform and anti-corruption”.
Dumitru Fornea, Co-President of the Moldova-EU Civil Society Platform, European Economic and Social Committee (EESC): “The division and infighting that we see increasingly acute in recent times are generated by new social engineering, and AI will create new problems for us. And it will depend very much on people’s capacity to cope with these pressures, a capacity that is also generated by dialogue in society. It is the context that imposes even more insistently the need for a consultative body for dialogue, an Economic and Social Council in Moldova, in order to modernize the way in which consultations are carried out”.
The third panel, moderated by Robert Lupițu, Editor-in-chief, caleaeuropeana.ro platform, was dedicated to topics related to the essential preconditions for the accelerated integration of the Republic of Moldova into the EU. We propose below some theses from the speakers’ interventions.
Cristina Ceban, State Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization of the Republic of Moldova (MDED): “To accelerate the European integration of the Republic of Moldova, in the economic field it is necessary to focus on competitiveness, innovation and digitalization, but also to operate with transparency in the relationship with the business environment. A transparent governance system is vital for the transformation of the economy – strengthening the rule of law, public administration reform, justice reform, but also promoting the ecological transition, through the use of renewable energy, environmental protection and production with reduced environmental impact”.
Daniela Morari, Ambassador, Head of the Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the EU: “In the negotiation process with the EU, it is very important to do our homework and the involvement of civil society is important. For us, one of the priorities was joining European programs – 8 programs last year and 6 programs this year. These programs offer irreversibility and give Moldovan experts the opportunity to be in touch with European experts”.
Marc Jorna, Chairman of the screening meetings with the Republic of Moldova, DG NEAR, European Commission: “Moldova can benefit from the experience of the Western Balkans in order to accelerate its accession to the EU, by participating in various European programs even before becoming part of the community bloc. The EU has mechanisms and programs that offer concrete benefits to people even before the country integrates into the community bloc, such as financial assistance for economic development or the SEPA program that allows a bank transfer to Moldova to no longer cost hundreds of euros, but to be made at the commissions that we would pay if we sent money from Munich to Berlin”.
Vincent Piket, Senior EU Advisor to the Government of the Republic of Moldova: “European integration is a path on which Chisinau and Brussels must work shoulder to shoulder to move in the same direction and achieve results. During this period, we must generate concrete benefits for people – from exchanges of experts between civil society and the business community, researchers, universities, to concrete things for ordinary people, such as cheap bank transfers and the elimination of roaming, so that people from the Republic of Moldova feel at home everywhere”.
Drita Abdiu-Halili, Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of the Republic of Moldova: “The chance that the Republic of Moldova has now is not just a window of opportunity, but it is a concrete path to accession, and I kindly ask you not to miss it. I am impressed by the commitment I see in the administration of the Republic of Moldova. The negotiating team sometimes does the impossible to present itself in the best light in Brussels”.
For more details, you can watch the full video recording of the event here.
The Moldova European Integration Forum is organized by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Moldova (FES) and the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE), in cooperation and partnership with the Bureau for European Integration of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the Foreign Policy Association and the Soros Foundation Moldova.
