Can the Republic of Moldova join the European Union by the end of this decade? – 10.01.2023
At the end of 2022, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Mrs. Maia Sandu, expressed the desire for the country to be accepted into the European Union (EU) by the beginning of 2030. It is possible that in seven years (2023-2029) the Republic of Moldova (RM) will steps required to admit in the EU?
The Republic of Moldova has the shortest period of time between the moment of submitting the application for EU accession – March 3, 2022 – and that of receiving the status of a candidate country – June 23, 2022. In the case of Romania, two years were necessary. The short period for the Republic of Moldova, of only four months, is the explanation in the existence of the Association Agreement, including the in-depth and comprehensive free trade area, signed by the EU and the Republic of Moldova in June 2014. Based on this agreement: the Republic of Moldova . Moldova has carried out the necessary reforms and aligned, to a good extent, its legislation with that of the EU, in many areas; an institutional framework was created for bilateral dialogue between the Republic of Moldova and EU member states; substantial financial support for reform and development was granted to the Republic of Moldova by the EU.
Is this short period of time an argument that the Republic of Moldova will go through the other stages of EU accession just as quickly? No way. Romania needed more than two years, from the moment of receiving the status of a candidate country, until the beginning of the accession negotiations, and another six years until the accession to the EU. We have examples of candidate countries with many years waiting, as a result of not meeting the EU accession criteria and/or, in some cases, the opposition of some EU member states: North Macedonia, candidate country since December 2005, Montenegro since December . 2010, Serbia since March 2012, Albania since June 2014 and Turkey since December 1999.
The Republic of Moldova can join the EU until the end of this decade, under conditions: (i) the political configuration in the Republic of Moldova, under government, remains favorable to joining the EU and continuing the necessary reforms for this purpose, in the year 2023 and in the next 6. years; (ii) The Republic of Moldova meets the criteria for joining the EU, namely the political, economic and administrative capacity criteria to fulfill its obligations as an EU member state; (iii) The Republic of Moldova uses the positive experience in the accession process of the neighboring member states, primarily Romania. The pace of the accession process depends decisively on the duration of the negotiation of the 35 chapters that cover all EU legislation and standards, as well as the Association Treaty that will be ratified by each EU member state and by the Republic of Moldova.
The first condition does not require much explanation: the majority of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova and the political power to join the EU. I do not propose here to discuss the fastest way of accession and integration of the Republic of Moldova into the EU, through the union with Romania, as long as, in the opinion polls, the percentage of Moldovan citizens who would like this union does not exceed about a third . from the total population. Since April 2014, citizens of the Republic of Moldova can travel to the Schengen area without a visa, and over 642,000 people from the Republic of Moldova have also received Romanian citizenship (24% of the total population). Also, the fact that the Republic of Moldova legally includes the territory occupied by the so-called “Transnistrian Republic”, but does not exercise its authority over them vis-à-vis the Republic of Moldova, should not constitute an obstacle for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU, as long as in We have the EU. a precedent with Cyprus.
The second condition refers to the fulfillment of the EU accession criteria. The political criteria mainly refer to the democratic character of the state, the stability of the institutions that ensure democracy, respect for human rights, the functioning of the rule of law and the protection of minorities. Unlike the other criteria (economic, administrative capacity), ceasing to fulfill the political criteria leads to stopping the entire accession process, until the political criteria are met again.
The economic criteria refer to the achievement of a functioning economy and the ability of this economy to face competitive pressure and for markets within the EU. The fulfillment of these economic criteria requires reforms and investments to achieve economic growth and development in conditions of sustainable balance, infrastructure development, modernization of the economic structure, etc.
The criteria of the administrative capacity to face the obligations that will fall to the Republic of Moldova as an EU member state also include (subsequent) accession to the Monetary Union. In December 2006, the European Council added to these criteria the “capacity of the EU to integrate new members”, which also implies a geopolitical assessment of the consequences of the accession of a new country to the EU, as well as the necessary reforms within the EU to maintain functionality. , with a larger number of member states.
The EU treaties do not provide for a “shortcut” in the accession process of one candidate country or another. The criteria for joining the EU are well defined and applicable to all candidate countries. Consequently, each candidate country can progress in the accession process on its own merits, at a faster or slower pace, depending on the stage of fulfillment of the accession criteria.
Negotiations between the Republic of Moldova and EU member states take place for each of the 35 chapters (files) that cover all EU legislation and standards. In principle, at the time of accession, the Republic of Moldova should be able to fully apply European legislation and standards. Therefore, the negotiations will show to what extent the Republic of Moldova can apply European legislation and standards and in these areas it needs transitional measures and periods to implement them. For example, solving the problems of environmental pollution – water, air, soil -, industrial and domestic waste management requires important investments and a longer duration of time (after 15 years of accession, Romania still has problems with the systems of ). collection, storage and processing of this waste).
Practically, the Republic of Moldova together with the European Commission will make an analytical examination of the state of application of European legislation and standards by the Republic of Moldova (screening), for each chapter; then the Republic of Moldova will develop a position document regarding this stadium, as well as the possible measures and transition periods requested; the position paper will be sent to the European Commission and all EU member states who will express their own position; the process is iterative, until an accepted point of view is reached; At this point, the chapter (file) can be temporarily closed. The provisional character is determined by two factors: EU legislation and standards in a dynamic content, being continuously supplemented, modified as a result of the EU legislative process, initiated by the European Commission and finalized by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. As such, the Republic of Moldova will have to update the application of European legislation and standards throughout the accession process; as in any complex negotiation process, no chapter is definitively closed until all chapters are closed.
The process of preparing negotiations for the Republic of Moldova, for EU accession, requires time, professionalism, energy, concentration and promptness on the part of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, central and local, employers’ organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, local communities. At the same time, the political openness of the EU and the member states towards the Republic of Moldova should also materialize in their quick reaction in the iterative process of negotiations for each chapter of European legislation and standards (without unjustified delays).
The third condition that favors the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU by the end of the current decade is the use of the experience of Romania and other neighboring countries. The Republic of Moldova can benefit from the entire EU legislation translated into Romanian and updated, from Romania’s experience in the negotiation process, and from the way of solving problems arising in the application of legislation and European standards for each separate chapter, especially in fundamental . it requires some measures and transition periods. Poland’s experience is useful in that it is highly absorbed and efficient in the use of European funds.
The whole process of the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU will be financially supported by the EU both through non-reimbursable funds and through loans granted to the EU and the European Investment Bank, at favorable costs, compared to commercial banks. The European Commission will have to come up with new proposals to increase the financial support for the Republic of Moldova, considering that the new status of the financial candidate country intervened after the current multiannual framework 2021-2027 was adopted. Also, in the following years, until the moment of accession, the Republic of Moldova will also benefit from the advantages of a gradual integration, according to the progress of the accession process.
The accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU by the end of this decade is an achievable objective, assumed by the president of the Republic of Moldova, avoiding the creation of unrealistic expectations on the part of Moldovan citizens. As in the case of Romania, the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU will lead to a more accelerated reduction of the economic and social development gaps that it registers in relation to the developed states of the EU. In 2019, unaffected by the Covid pandemic, the gross domestic product of the Republic of Moldova per inhabitant was 32.7% of the EU average (calculated at purchasing power parity, i.e. influenced by the lower level of prices in the Republic of Moldova, compared to from the EU).
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• The symbol of the Great Union, the statue of Stephen the Great, crossed the Prut several times
The monument of Stephen the Great has traveled a lot. It was taken out of bronze and installed under the supervision of EA Bernardazzi in Chisinau, it fits perfectly with the background of the oldest park, then named in his honor. Then, one of the Romanian gardeners, a general, a fervent admirer of the Moldavian ruler, requested that to be moved and installed in Romania, this happened in 1940. In the city of Vaslui, near the church of St. John (founded by Stephen the Great himself), the monument was installed, and its pedestal was blown up in Chisinau.
After this, the Monument to Stephen the Great traveled here and back several times, in 1942 it was reinstalled in Chisinau, but again it was evacuated to Romania in 1944.
And only in 1945, the respected sculptor Claudia Cobizeva, a student of the sculptor A. Plămădeala, accidentally discovered the Statue of Stephen the Great, shining from under the snow in a small park. Almost the same day, Colonel Voroshilov found out about it and the monument was returned to Chisinau.
https://casamare.md/ro/places/arkhitekturnye-pamyatniki/pamyatnik-shtefan-chel-mare#