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Three years since the signing of the Association Agreement Moldova-EU: One step back, two steps forward

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Three years ago, in Brussels, the Republic of Moldova signed the Association Agreement with the European Union – an agreement that set a new legal framework for the advancement of the relations between Moldova and the Union. Enthusiastic, Moldova became at that time the “success story” of the Eastern Partnership.

The situation radically changed in 2015, when the frauds in the banking sectors and the succession of the governments made the EU to suspend the direct budget assistance to Moldova. After the Filip Government was put into work in January 2016, some actions in addressing lacks in reform implementation are undertaken. But where were the real benefits of the Association Agreement (AA) and where Moldova is lagging behind?

Experts see the Association Agreement as a complex document with provisions in economic and political sectors, being the main instrument through which the European Union tries to get the Eastern Partnership states closer to its standards.

Dionis Cenușă, program director at Chișinău-based “Expert-Grup” think-tank, thinks that some sectors were reformed for the first time since independence with the help of the AA. “The industry is a good example- I mean the norms, the technical requirements, food safety and the consumer protection”, explains Cenușă.

The Association Agreement signed by Moldova was a preferential one because it involves a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). Moldova has now access to a market of 12,9 trillion euros with more than 500 million consumers. In the meantime, it is obliged to harmonize its legislation and standards with the European ones, as well as eliminating the import and export taxes with the EU. Thus, Moldova could and can export some quotas of food products without having them taxed when entering the Union. If the quotas are overused, some preferential taxes or renegotiated quotas apply.

According to the Moldovan Economy Ministry, between 2014 and 2016, the Republic of Moldova used or overused the quotas for corn, wheat, sugar and alcohol, but failed in making use of the quotas for grapes, apples and plums.

Since 2014, the European Union became the main trading partner of Moldova. More than 63% of Moldovan exports are now directed to the EU and half of them come from the EU. And there’s a positive trend in this. In January-April 2017, Moldova exported goods worth 430 million euros to the EU, 16% more than in the same period of 2016. “The diversification of exports and the consolidation of the European path in the external trade of Moldova is the main success”, says Cenușă. “The European market is stable, predictable respectively, comparing to the Russian one, which is dependent on the decisions from Kremlin”, continues the expert.

Mariana Rufa, executive director of the European Business Association, believes that the state could have stimulated more the exports. “Exporting means producing and producing implies investment. You cannot count only on the annulment of the custom taxes, which is a result of the process. To benefit from these, the economic agent should have something to export and the products should be of European quality. All of these imply investment”, explains Rufa.

To be more competitive, the economic agents must invest in equipment, producing machinery and in “know-how”- technologies and technological processes. According to EBA director, the initial investment is an impediment for some potential entrepreneurs. “The access to financing is limited, the interest rates are high. From the point of view of the banking environment, Moldova is not a credible country. It cannot connect to those international programs that exist in the worldwide banking sector that would allow a bank from Moldova to get a low interest rate loan. To fully benefit from the accord, the state should invest more in the legal framework of the banking sector and in subsidies, that would allow the economic agent to offer a competitive price.

The same opinion is shared by Alexandru Slusari, former head of the Farmers Association UniAgroProtect, organization that reunites approx. 1600 agricultural producers. “Instead of being busy with the frauds and devaluation of the banking sector, the state could have increased the subsidies for the local farmers, the situation would be better”, declares Slusari. Nevertheless, he confirms that several economic agents were capable of exporting to the European market. Slusari gave the example of the juice and jam producer Orhei-Vit that increased its sales by at least 20% after the signing of the Association Agreement.

The change of the electoral system puts real reforms in shadow

According to the Government of Moldova, approximately 73% of the AA Implementation Action Plan for 2014-2016 were fulfilled. At the same time, an alternative report of the Institute for European Policy and Reforms found that the implementation rate of the Plan is actually lower- 63%.

Most of the actions undertaken in 2014-2016 were of legislative nature. At the same time, a series of important reforms were implemented with delay or in a deficient manner. For example, the reform of the procedure of appointing the judges has not been finalized and the integrity package is delayed.

Denis Cenușă thinks that the political topics dominate the agenda. “The change of the electoral system eclipses over a series of important reforms that have to take place, but are not undertaken because of the interest of the government to promote a specific project”, adds Cenușă. All of these despite the fact that the Association Agreement does not include the change of the electoral system and the Venice Commission considers the modification is unnecessary.

In her turn, Mariana Rufa says that the low skilled personnel of the Ministries also make an impediment for the reform implementation. “We hope that the reform of the Government will not be only a fusion of the institutions, but it will underline the competences of the human resources and the attractive salaries”, thinks the EBA director.

A third of a billion for Moldova

During 2014-2016, the European Union launched development projects worth 310 million euros. The main domains of European investment were the public administration, agriculture and the development of rural areas. “If one goes into details, one can see palpable projects. For example, the EU supported important project for energy efficiency”, stresses Cenușă.

With the help of the European funds, 225 public institutions (kindergartens, schools, city councils) benefit from biomass heating system and 15000 people have access to drinking water. According to EU estimations, the European projects created more than 20000 jobs in Moldova.

It is important to mention that the Gagauzia Autonomy and Transnistria have also been involved in the European policy-making and indirectly, in the Association Agreement. Starting from 2016, all producers, including the Transnistrian ones, benefit from preferential trade with the EU. “To make the regulations seem acceptable, the Transnistrian administration called them “technical aspects for opening the European market for Transnistrian producers”. It is useful for the region’s propaganda and acceptable for Russia”, explains Cenușă. While the AA provides only trade provisions for Transnistria, in the case of Gagauzia, the European Union opened up special loans so that producers from there are encouraged to increase their producing capacities and export to the European market.

The successes and the failures mentioned above are just some of the changes in Moldova in the last three years. The potential of the Association Agreement is also hard to challenge. Nevertheless, President Igor Dodon repeatedly said that the Association Agreement did not bring benefits to the Republic of Moldova, but mean losing the Russian market.

“President Dodon is lying when he makes such statements, because losing the Russian market and having the restrictions imposed by Russia were not determined by the European Union, but were adopted from political and geopolitical considerations of the Russian Federations”, argues Expert-Grup representative.

Accordingly, the implementation of the Association Agreement can lead to slow but fundamental transformations in all the state sectors, translatable in palpable results for the citizens.

“But all of this depends on the quality of governance, which nobody from Brussels can replace and which is a result of internal processes”concludes Cenușă.

Article by Victoria Colesnic, originally published in Romanian.

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#WorldForUkraine – a map that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression

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The international community and volunteers from all over te world have launched #WorldForUkraine as a platform that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against the Russian aggression. In a digital world – it is an interactive map of public support of Ukrainians under the hashtag #WorldForUkraine – rallies, flash mobs, protests around the world. In the physical dimension – it is your opportunity to take to the streets and declare: “No to Putin’s aggression, no to war.”

„Today, along with the political and military support, emotional connection with the civilized world and truthful information are extremely important for Ukraine. The power to do it is in your hands. Join the #WorldForUkraine project and contribute to the victorious battle against the bloodshed inflicted on Ukraine by the aggression of the Russian Federation”, says the „about the project” section of the platform.

Go to the streets — Tell people — Connect and Unite — Become POWERFUL

Volunteers have launched #WorldForUkraine as a platform that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression. In digital world – it is an INTERACTIVE MAP of public support of Ukrainians worldforukraine.net under the hashtag #WorldForUkraine – rallies, flash mobs, protests around the world. In the physical dimension – it is your opportunity to take to the streets and declare: “No to Putin’s aggression, no to war.” There you may find information about past and future rallies in your city in support of Ukraine. This is a permanent platform for Ukrainian diaspora and people all over the world concerned about the situation in Ukraine.

So here’s a couple of things you could do yourself to help:

* if there is a political rally in your city, then participate in it and write about it on social media with geolocation and the hashtag #WorldForUkraine

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How is Moldova managing the big influx of Ukrainian refugees? The authorities’ plan, explained 

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From 24th to 28th of February, 71 359 Ukrainian citizens entered the territory of Republic of Moldova. 33 173 of them left the country. As of this moment, there are 38 186 Ukrainian citizens in Moldova, who have arrived over the past 100 hours. 

The Moldovan people and authorities have organized themselves quickly from the first day of war between Russia and Ukraine. However, in the event of a prolonged armed conflict and a continuous influx of Ukrainian refugees, the efforts and donations need to be efficiently managed. Thus, we inquired about Moldova’s long-term plan and the state’s capacity to receive, host, and treat a bigger number of refugees. 

On February 26th, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Moldova approved the Regulation of organization and functioning of the temporary Placement Center for refugees and the staffing and expenditure rules. According to the Regulation, the Centers will have the capacity of temporary hosting and feeding at least 20 persons, for a maximum of 3 months, with the possibility of extending this period. The Centers will also offer legal, social, psychological, and primary medical consultations to the refugees. The Center’s activity will be financed from budget allocations, under Article 19 of Provision no. 1 of the Exceptional Situations Commission from February 24th, 2022, and from other sources of funding that do not contravene applicable law.

The Ministry of Inner Affairs and the Government of Moldova facilitated the organization of the volunteers’ group “Moldova for Peace”.  Its purpose is to receive, offer assistance and accommodation to the Ukrainian refugees. The group is still working on creating a structure, registering and contacting volunteers, etc. It does not activate under a legal umbrella. 

Lilia Nenescu, one of the “Moldova for Peace” volunteers, said that the group consists of over 20 people. Other 1700 registered to volunteer by filling in this form, which is still available. The group consists of several departments: 

The volunteers’ department. Its members act as fixers: they’re responsible for connecting the people in need of assistance with the appropriate department. Some of the volunteers are located in the customs points. “The Ministry of Inner Affairs sends us every day the list of the customs points where our assistance is needed, and we mobilize the volunteers”, says Lilia Nenescu. 

The Goods Department manages all the goods donated by the Moldavian citizens. The donations are separated into categories: non-perishable foods and non-food supplies. The volunteers of this department sort the goods into packages to be distributed. 

The Government intends to collect all the donations in four locations. The National Agency for Food Safety and the National Agency for Public Health will ensure mechanisms to confirm that all the deposited goods comply with safety and quality regulations. 

The Service Department operates in 4 directions and needs the volunteer involvement of specialists in psychology, legal assistance (the majority of the refugees only have Ukrainian ID and birth certificates of their children); medical assistance; translation (a part of the refugees are not Ukrainian citizens). 

According to Elena Mudrîi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, so far there is no data about the number of  Covid-19 positive refugees. She only mentioned two cases that needed outpatient medical assistance: a pregnant woman and the mother of a 4-day-old child. 

The Accommodation Department. The volunteers are waiting for the centralized and updated information from the Ministry of Labor about the institutions offering accommodation, besides the houses offered by individuals. 

The Transport Department consists of drivers organized in groups. They receive notifications about the number of people who need transportation from the customs points to the asylum centers for refugees.

The municipal authorities of Chișinău announced that the Ukrainian children refugees from the capital city will be enrolled in educational institutions. The authorities also intend to create Day-Care Centers for children, where they will be engaged in educational activities and will receive psychological assistance. Besides, the refugees from the municipal temporary accommodation centers receive individual and group counseling. 

In addition to this effort, a group of volunteers consisting of Ana Gurău, Ana Popapa, and Andrei Lutenco developed, with the help of Cristian Coșneanu, the UArefugees platform, synchronized with the responses from this form. On the first day, 943 people offered their help using the form, and 110 people asked for help. According to Anna Gurău, the volunteers communicate with the Government in order to update the platform with the missing data. 

Translation from Romanian by Natalia Graur

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FC Sheriff Tiraspol victory: can national pride go hand in hand with political separatism?

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A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.

International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.

Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.

Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.

Is it Moldova?

First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.

At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”

What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.

“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.

Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.

Is it a victory?

In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.

Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.

“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”

Is it only about football?

FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.

The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.

Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.

Photo: unknown

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