{"id":419878,"date":"2015-04-30T11:39:29","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T09:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/?p=419878"},"modified":"2015-04-30T11:39:29","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T09:39:29","slug":"eu-ambassador-to-moldova-imf-programme-a-requirement-for-further-eu-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/eu-ambassador-to-moldova-imf-programme-a-requirement-for-further-eu-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Ambassador to Moldova: IMF Programme a requirement for further EU funding"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

East vs West – a fake divide<\/strong><\/p>\n

EU Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola said during an interview for Moldova.ORG that the East-West divide, commonly employed to describe Moldovan society, is an artificial problem exploited by the local political parties. According to him, the debate should be focused on the country’s internal direction of development.<\/p>\n

“People in the end usually vote for bread and butter issues. They vote on the quality of society they have and it is, in a way, the responsibility of political leadership to deliver a high quality society, a society which gives opportunities, gives economic growth, gives more jobs, has a rule of law, justice and deep democracy\u201d, said Tapiola, adding that it is precisely the European countries that have managed to build such societies.<\/p>\n

According to him, if people were asked in what kind of society they’d like to live, “the answer would be clear”. Tapiola was also keen to note that after the elections, only 25 seats in the Parliament went to anti-European parties.<\/p>\n

Asked about the future of the minority coalition currently running the Government, the EU ambassador said its lifespan would be determined by its capacity to find consensus and to implement reforms.<\/p>\n

More money for Gagauzia<\/strong><\/p>\n

As regards the EU’s cooperation with the new governor of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, Tapiola thinks that Irina Vlah’s pro-Russian views aren’t an obstacle. “I went to the inauguration of the new bashkan, I had a short discussion, I look forward to having many more discussions with her. These were constructive, they showed willingness to cooperate and to move forward together for the development of the Gagauz autonomy”, said the official<\/p>\n

He added that the EU was looking for ways to increase aid for Gagauzia and welcomed the presence of Moldova’s top officials at Vlah’s inauguration. Tapiola is especially happy with the similar goals expressed by the central officials and the bashkan: strong commitment to Moldova as a state and the determination to make the 1994 autonomy law work.<\/p>\n

Local elections and reform of the local administration<\/strong><\/p>\n

With both local elections and a reform of the local administration on the horizon, the ambassador stressed that local elections should take place when they are supposed to. “At the same time, the territorial-administrative reform that has been on the table for a long time is probably highly overdue in this country”, he said. According to the EU official, 898 local governments are too many for a country with under 3 million inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Tapiola cited studies showing that 86% of these local governments spent their money solely on administration and lacked money to provide social services or investments. “The studies also show that up to 70% of municipalities spent less than 100 lei per person per year. That’s a dramatically low figure”, he said. The diplomat suggests that communities should unite their efforts to provide better services, even if this means that people could have to go to the neighbouring village for this service.<\/p>\n

Moldovan exports to the EU<\/b><\/p>\n

The official explained that the EU doubled the trade quotas for Moldova in order to help the local farmers that suffered because of Russia’s embargo. However, few quotas were actually fulfilled. For Tapiola, the main reason is that it simply takes time to penetrate a new market and adapt to the new rules. He also noted that Moldova lacks a proper post-harvesting infrastructure, but the EU is ready to assist the farmers in this regard and the European Investment Bank has a dedicated credit program for this – The Fruit Garden of Moldova.<\/p>\n

As regards farmers from the separatist region of Transnistria, Tapiola said that they should be able to enjoy the benefits of the Free Trade Agreement as well, but it depends on how constructive the dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol will be.<\/p>\n

Financial stability – a condition for further funding<\/strong><\/p>\n

The EU ambassador said that Moldova should solve its banking crisis in order to be able to enjoy further financing from the EU. Macroeconomic and budgetary stability are the two main requirements. Another one is the continuation of reforms and Tapiola reiterated the EU’s readiness to assist Moldova in developing and implementing the necessary reforms.<\/p>\n

He also stressed the importance of an IMF programme for the country, which can help the government overcome the current problems and put in place conditions that would ensure financial and economic stability. This, in turn, would allow the EU to provide more funding. Tapiola underlined that an IMF country programme is, in fact, a requirement by the EU.<\/p>\n

Tapiola said he hadn’t read the Kroll report about the “lost billion”, but explained that the decision to publish it or not should take into consideration whether it is publication or confidentiality that would better suit the investigation’s goals.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>East vs West – a fake divide EU Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola said during an interview for Moldova.ORG that the East-West divide, commonly employed to describe Moldovan society, is an artificial problem exploited by the local political parties. According to him, the debate should be focused on the country’s internal direction of development. “People in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":419810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-419878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"content_social_share":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

East vs West – a fake divide<\/strong><\/p>\n

EU Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola said during an interview for Moldova.ORG that the East-West divide, commonly employed to describe Moldovan society, is an artificial problem exploited by the local political parties. According to him, the debate should be focused on the country’s internal direction of development.<\/p>\n

“People in the end usually vote for bread and butter issues. They vote on the quality of society they have and it is, in a way, the responsibility of political leadership to deliver a high quality society, a society which gives opportunities, gives economic growth, gives more jobs, has a rule of law, justice and deep democracy\u201d, said Tapiola, adding that it is precisely the European countries that have managed to build such societies.<\/p>\n

According to him, if people were asked in what kind of society they’d like to live, “the answer would be clear”. Tapiola was also keen to note that after the elections, only 25 seats in the Parliament went to anti-European parties.<\/p>\n

Asked about the future of the minority coalition currently running the Government, the EU ambassador said its lifespan would be determined by its capacity to find consensus and to implement reforms.<\/p>\n

More money for Gagauzia<\/strong><\/p>\n

As regards the EU’s cooperation with the new governor of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, Tapiola thinks that Irina Vlah’s pro-Russian views aren’t an obstacle. “I went to the inauguration of the new bashkan, I had a short discussion, I look forward to having many more discussions with her. These were constructive, they showed willingness to cooperate and to move forward together for the development of the Gagauz autonomy”, said the official<\/p>\n

He added that the EU was looking for ways to increase aid for Gagauzia and welcomed the presence of Moldova’s top officials at Vlah’s inauguration. Tapiola is especially happy with the similar goals expressed by the central officials and the bashkan: strong commitment to Moldova as a state and the determination to make the 1994 autonomy law work.<\/p>\n

Local elections and reform of the local administration<\/strong><\/p>\n

With both local elections and a reform of the local administration on the horizon, the ambassador stressed that local elections should take place when they are supposed to. “At the same time, the territorial-administrative reform that has been on the table for a long time is probably highly overdue in this country”, he said. According to the EU official, 898 local governments are too many for a country with under 3 million inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Tapiola cited studies showing that 86% of these local governments spent their money solely on administration and lacked money to provide social services or investments. “The studies also show that up to 70% of municipalities spent less than 100 lei per person per year. That’s a dramatically low figure”, he said. The diplomat suggests that communities should unite their efforts to provide better services, even if this means that people could have to go to the neighbouring village for this service.<\/p>\n

Moldovan exports to the EU<\/b><\/p>\n

The official explained that the EU doubled the trade quotas for Moldova in order to help the local farmers that suffered because of Russia’s embargo. However, few quotas were actually fulfilled. For Tapiola, the main reason is that it simply takes time to penetrate a new market and adapt to the new rules. He also noted that Moldova lacks a proper post-harvesting infrastructure, but the EU is ready to assist the farmers in this regard and the European Investment Bank has a dedicated credit program for this – The Fruit Garden of Moldova.<\/p>\n

As regards farmers from the separatist region of Transnistria, Tapiola said that they should be able to enjoy the benefits of the Free Trade Agreement as well, but it depends on how constructive the dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol will be.<\/p>\n

Financial stability – a condition for further funding<\/strong><\/p>\n

The EU ambassador said that Moldova should solve its banking crisis in order to be able to enjoy further financing from the EU. Macroeconomic and budgetary stability are the two main requirements. Another one is the continuation of reforms and Tapiola reiterated the EU’s readiness to assist Moldova in developing and implementing the necessary reforms.<\/p>\n

He also stressed the importance of an IMF programme for the country, which can help the government overcome the current problems and put in place conditions that would ensure financial and economic stability. This, in turn, would allow the EU to provide more funding. Tapiola underlined that an IMF country programme is, in fact, a requirement by the EU.<\/p>\n

Tapiola said he hadn’t read the Kroll report about the “lost billion”, but explained that the decision to publish it or not should take into consideration whether it is publication or confidentiality that would better suit the investigation’s goals.<\/p>\n\n

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