The Republic of Moldova is in Europe
The Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine have taken one more step towards the European Union. These countries, however, still have a long way to go before they become part of the EU.
România Internațional, 30.06.2014, 13:40
The Republic of Moldova took a step closer to the European Union on Friday, in Brussels, after it signed the association and free trade agreements with the community bloc. Chisinau thus obtained privileged access to the EU internal market, the largest single market in the world, in exchange for its commitment to observe the state of law and to continue the fight against corruption.
Moldova’s signing the association and free trade agreements with the EU crowns seven years of technical negotiations, and comes despite Russian efforts to disrupt the process with trade bans, gas disputes, and military aggression, the EU Observer reports. The efforts of the Government in Chisinau, of the dynamic sectors of Moldovan society willing to take the risk of dealing with the costs of reform, and the support of neighbouring Romania have thus been validated by what the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso defined as ‘historic accords’.
Barosso warned, however, that the success of these accords depends on continuing reform, likely to bring the three former Soviet states closer to the European way of living, in terms of politics, economy and culture. In Chisinau, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said he prepared his country’s institutions for an effective implementation of the association agreements, which he sees as a stage in his country’s process of EU accession.
On the other hand, the pro-Moscow leftist faction is planning to rebuild the partnership with Russia if it wins the legislative elections this fall. Moscow has already warned that it will take measures to protect its market from what is sees as the negative effects of EU integration of its former colonies.
