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1st DAY, 1st SESSION “Moldova: the way forward”

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Let me start by saying how glad I am that Wilton Park has accepted our proposal to organize this conference dedicated to Moldova and agreed to host us in this beautiful place in the middle of the English countryside. I am sure that this informal environment will allow us to have fruitful discussions during all three days. I hope that this event will become an annual tradition so that next year we could continue our discussion on Moldova.

We gathered here to answer a few key questions: first, is the EU doing enough to help Moldova’s European integration and Transnistrian settlement? Secondly, how did the crisis in Georgia affect Moldova? Finally, is Transnistria a potential next spoiler or an opportunity in EU-Russia relations?

The end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 is a crucial period for Moldova: general elections, euro-agenda and Transnistrian settlement issues are very important for the well-being of the country. But this is important not only for Moldova. This is important for all of us. That‘s why I am glad to see so many representatives from other countries and organizations who are present here today. This shows that we all care about Moldova. We care about Moldova because we all agree that Moldova makes an integral part of Europe. It has a multi-millennial European history and diverse cultural traditions, which make an important part of European heritage. That‘s why Moldova‘s choice to embark on the euro-integration path is not surprising, on the contrary, it is a timely decision.

Moldova can and should come closer to the EU. If we want the last round of enlargement to be a succeess, our aim of having an area of stability and prosperity must cover our neighboorhood as well. Achieving this is crucial both for the EU and for countries like Moldova. This goal can be reached if Moldova shares our main values such as democracy, rule of law, human rights and if we help Moldova to develop economically. Our success lies in joint ownership and committment. Therefore, the continuous EU-Moldova Action Plan implementation is still a central element on the road to success.

I must stress that the committment showed by Moldova in carrying on its Action Plan implementation is a good sign. Moldovan Government has set its priorities on the basis of the April Progress Report by the Commission. Moldova remains clearly committed to continue its reform efforts according to European standards. We are glad to see that there has been further progress in the fields of justice and human rights.

And indeed Moldova has achieved a lot during last year while implementing the reforms. Let’s see: the Mobility partnership was launched successfully, visa facilitation and readmission agreement signed, the Common Visa Application Centre opened, ATPs granted, the EUBAM mission extended. Due to its achievements Moldova has been receiving a sound EU financial assistance within the ENPI. Moreover, due to the positive Commission report on the Action plan implementation the decision on the additional funding by granting Governance Facility allocations to Moldova has been approved.

However, not everything has been done yet. We agree with the European Commission concerning further efforts needed in the implementation of the internal reforms in Moldova. Raising the electoral threshold to 6% and banning electoral blocks is also worrying. However, we should wait for the Council of Europe, Venice Commission conclusions on this issue. Moreover, the enforcement of the new legislation adopted is very important, otherwise the new reforms remain only on paper.

We would like to encourage Moldova to take into account the advice offered by the Council of Europe, OSCE, IMF and, of course, the EU. We hope that Moldova will not forget that the commitment from the EU side cannot go further if the intensity of the reform process in Moldova stalls. It depends only on the will and capability of Moldova to move forward on the euro-integration road. Moldova must keep the pace of reforms on a good track and continue with Action Plan implementation. Otherwise Moldova will be postponing its euro-integration ‘advantages’.

In the meantime we should consider whether we, the EU, did everything possible to encourage Moldova’s reforms? Did we make sure that Moldova will find its place “in a whole and free Europe?” It is almost half a year since the Commission has started preparations on the draft EU-Moldova New Enhanced Agreement mandate. We expect that the Commission finalizes the the mandate as soon as possible so that the Council could adopt the mandate by the end of this year. In this case the negotiations could start in early 2009. The scope of the new agreement which might be called an EU-Moldova Association agreement must cover more domains than the previous PCA agreement. It should include the aim of establishing a deep and comprehensive Free Trade Area. The creation of a common deep free trade area would lead to a better and faster economic and legislative integration of Moldova. By doing this we could bring Moldova closer to the EU standards. Therefore, we should consider drafting a road-map for the process of establishing DFTA with Moldova. The example of Western Balkans could serve as a reference. This would help to foster regional links as well. But it is even more important for Moldova to follow the Ukraine euro-integration road. Moldova has to to get all the elements of the future EU-Ukraine Association agreement. I will get back on this issue later. We also welcome the Swedish-Czech-Polish proposal on the Eastern Partnership which could be an excellent pre-accession package for Moldova. We expect a lot from this initiative. It does not mention the membership clause, but it includes many elements which could help Moldova to advance on the euro-integration track. We hope that the Czech Republic and Sweden will follow on this issue with full commitment next year.

It is vital to enhance the EU-Moldova relations without unnecessary delay. As long as Moldova shows eagerness to continue working seriously towards the start of negotiations, we must be responsive and encourage the democratic reforms in the country. Let me also stress that the mandate for the negotiations should not be linked to the elections in Moldova. On the other hand, many of the EU member states will be closely following the election transparency in Moldova. The pre-election process will be also very important. Nothing is given for granted. Everything is in the hands of Moldova, so let us help to help you!

Another point I would like to stress talking about Moldova‘s future is linked to the visa regime which we apply towards Moldova. The EU recognized the perspective for the introduction of a visa-free travel regime for Moldova in the EC-Moldova Agreement on Visa Facilitation. The Progress Report on the EU-Moldova Action plan implementation confirmed a good progress Moldovan authorities have made in the JHA field. That’s why we strongly support the idea of starting a visa liberalization dialogue between the EU and Moldova without unnecessary delay. The introduction of a visa-free travel regime for Moldovan citizens would: first, reaffirm EU’s engagement towards Moldova; second, promote people-to-people contacts between Moldova and the EU, third, help to facilitate the reunification of the country; and fourth, intensify the necessary reforms in Moldova in the field of JHA. Besides, let me remind you that the visa dialogue has been started with Russia, so why should we disregard the Moldovan request?

That‘s why we think that the EU should offer to discuss a road-map for a visa-free regime between the EU and Moldova in the nearest future. This would be the strongest signal for both Moldova and Transnistria – a signal of a common future in an Europeanised and reunified country. And it would also demonstrate our eagerness to prevent future instability in our neighbourhood through „soft“ power. Let me stress that the visa liberalization dialogue would be based on a detailed roadmap with clear benchmarks to be met by Moldova for lifting the visa requirement. Therefore, it would require a full commitment from the Moldovan side because the speed of movement towards visa liberalization would exclusively depend on the progress Moldova achieves. The EU-Western Balkans visa road-map could serve as a perfect example.

Let‘s also not forget that there are also other actors who could support Moldova‘s „moving ahead“. Yes, the two neighbours of Moldova could play an important role on the euro-integration track as well as on the Transnistrian conflict settlement. Strategic partnership between Moldova and its neighbors is needed now more than ever. That‘s why I‘m happy to see so many representatives from Ukraine and Romania who accepeted our invitation to come here and join our discussions.

Well, first of all, the success of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration could do a big favor to Moldova. The scope of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement could be an example for the EU-Moldovan relations, of course, adapted to individual Moldovan needs. If Ukraine and Moldova work hand-in-hand on the enhanced cooperation with the EU, it would also encourage their bilateral cooperation, increase the stability in the region and the chances for success of our Eastern ENP policy. That’s why launching a format of Ukraine-Moldova permanent consultations in the areas of European and Euro-Atlantic cooperation is a great idea. There could also be a deeper cooperation in the framework of regional organizations in which Ukraine is taking part, especially within GUAM. We also hope that the visit of President Juschenko could finally take place in Chisinau. One of the topics for the meeting could be the need to issue a common MD-UA statement on the prolongation of the EUBAM mandate after December 2009 and possible mission work inside the Transnistrian region. EUBAM is indeed a great contribution from the EU side, however it also needs more human resources. We also need to make sure that EUBAM is not only prolonged next year but that it also grows and/or expands the scope of its performance.

It is also important for Moldova to have friendly relations with Romania. Last year was rather disappointing if we try to define the relations between the two countries. But the latest visit of President Basescu to Chisinau and continouos support on the EU agenda issues gives us some hope that Romania and Moldova are ready to move on the right track.

We also suggest establishing multilateral intellectual forum which could be a big step forward for the deepening regional relations. It would lead to more open and frequent discussions on many issues, especially tackling common problems and sharing its experience. Lithuania is ready to contribute to the launch of this forum. Another suggestion would be to promote more active transborder cooperation among the NGOs from all three countries.

Moldova could also show more willingness to expand its Friends’ entourage. This concerns not only current EU member states, but also potential candidate and candidate countries and members of other regional organizations. Being a Chairman of SEECP in 2008/9, member of Regional Cooperation Council, Black Sea Synergy, GUAM, and other regional organizations, Moldova has a perfect opportunity to cooperate and gain/share knowledge with South Eastern European countries.

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While talking about Moldova and its opportunities to “move forward” we should also discuss the current situation with Transnistrian settlement. First, let me complement Moldova for maturity of its reaction towards the crisis in Georgia. More than that – we often miss to appreciate how much Moldova has done on its own to manage prudently the issues around Transnistria conflict. However, it is today not entirely in Moldova’s hands and we should not be mistaken by the appearance of its stability – that could change rapidly. I would say that Georgian crisis made all of us more aware of the presence of the frozen conflicts on our borders and maybe showed to some reluctant members that negligence and inaction could have very severe consequences.

First of all, we should agree internally that the current EU position on Transnistria is neither coherent, nor updated, that‘s why we need to prepare a new EU package deal on Transnistria. As it is stated in the current 2005 EU document on Transnistrian settlement – it is a “living document” which needs to be revised as appropriate in view of developments. It‘s been more than 3 years since it was debated and now it‘s high time to make the necessary adjustments. I would like to encourage all the sceptics to re-think whether our policy was strong and coherent enough on this issue.

At the same time I am happy to see the EU Special Representatives for Moldova Mr Mizsei and the former EUSR Mr Jacobovits de Szeged who are present here today. I strongly believe that if Member States and the Policy Unit with the EUSR in front start working and sharing ideas and initiatives more openly, the EU will not be blamed for the lack of unanimity on this question. Moreover, the Transnistrian question has never been raised during the EU-Russia summits. Why?

Secondly, what can we do to encourage the sides to finally get together for a “long” 5+2 negotiations? I’m afraid there’s no possibility to expect that settlement is agreed until the elections. Nonetheless, we need to consider measures how to encourage both sides, particularly Transnistria, to start seriously working. We should also discuss the peace-keeping format change / future “need” of those forces in Moldova. The “peace-keepers” format needs to be changed and we as the EU should start seriously reflecting on this. A joint EU-Russian initiative on Transnistrian settlement by elaborating common proposals could help to demonstrate our eagerness to work together in solving one of the easiest and most artificial frozen conflicts bording the EU.

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Let me conclude by saying that Moldova‘s future is, of course, only in Moldova‘s hands. We cannot implement the necessary reforms for Moldova if Chisinau stalls the euro-integration process. We also cannot prevent Moldova from accepting doubtfull Transnistrian settlement scenarios if Moldova decides to sign them. But what we could do is stay committed towards our Moldovan partners as Neighbours, as Members of the EU, and as Friends. Our committment must be more visible on all “fronts”, especially in the light of the Georgian crisis.

At the end let me wish you all fruitfull discussions during the whole conference. I hope that this event will be a successfull one so that next year we could organize a second round in Lithuania or Moldova.

Thank you.