The Republic of Moldova and the European Union

The Republic of Moldova and Georgia have initialled their respective association and free trade agreements with the European Union at the eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius.

România Internațional, 29.11.2013, 13:55

The Eastern Partnership summit hosted by Lithuania’s capital Vilnius has been the focus of international attention in recent days. Bringing together 6 ex-Soviet republics, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, the Partnership gives these countries the chance of closer ties with the European Union by means of stronger political cooperation and economic integration. Romania’s eastern neighbour, the majority Romanian speaking Republic of Moldova, as well as Georgia, on Friday initialled their association agreements with the European Union, which also includes the free trade agreement, following talks that started in 2010. Here’s Moldovan prime minister Iurie Leanca speaking after the initialling of the document:

“We are living a historical moment. An unprecedented ambitious and far-reaching agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union has been initialled. It symbolises trust, openness and cooperation between my country and the European Union”.

The president of the EU Council, Herman van Rompuy, has hailed the determination, courage and political will of the Moldovan and Georgian leaders and gave assurances that the European Union will respect these countries’ sovereignty. Present at the summit in Vilnius, Romania’s president Traian Basescu said Moldova and Georgia made a step forwards at the summit, unlike Ukraine, which, regrettably, made a step backwards. The failure of the summit is precisely the refusal of this state to break away from Russia’s influence. In 2011, Ukraine was the first Eastern Partnership state to finish talks on the association agreement with the EU.

One week before the summit, however, it decided to put the initialling of this deal on hold, following pressure from Moscow. However, Brussels hopes EU accession talks with Ukraine will continue. Another member of the Eastern Partnership, Azerbaijan signed a visa facilitation agreement with the European Union, while its north-eastern neighbour Armenia has chosen instead to join the Customs Union initiated by Russia, along with Belarus.