Romanian political pundit says Moldova has occasion to get rid of old habits of corruption after launch of EU accession negotiations

Chisinau, 27 June /MOLDPRES/ - A period in which the authorities are to prove responsibility and the citizens – understanding of the confidence given by EU will follow after the launch of the negotiations on Moldova’s accession to the European Union in Luxembourg. ‘’This will be a difficult period,’’ a political pundit from Romania, Mihai Isac, has told MOLDPRES. He noted that Moldova was under the pressure of Russia’s hybrid war and the ‘’endemic corruption.’’ At the same time, the political analyst made a comparison with the situation in Romania on the pre-accession period, stressing that Moldova would be able to manage easier, as it is a small state which benefits from the experience of Romania and other European states.      

Contacted by MOLDPRES, the Romanian political pundit said that the official launch of negotiations on Moldova’s accession to the European Union represented a signal of confidence conveyed to foreign investors. Moldova might expect a considerable increase in foreign investments, this being the first thing which will be felt.    

„Following this clear signal from Luxembourg, the confidence of foreign investors in Moldova will be enhanced, the foreign investments in Moldova will grow; the sums allocated in different forms directly from the EU or the EU member states to communities from Moldova will increase as well. We already see the effect of these investments, for instance, the road from Vulcanesti or the money provided for the enhancement of Moldova’s energy resilience; but we cannot talk about an improvement of the living for Moldova’s citizens immediately, but in one or two years, the effects of this act will be seen,’’ the expert noted.     

At the same time, Mihai Isac said that the benefits would not be immediate. ‘’EU must take certain measures, in order to make sure that the funds provided will not get to be used against them.’’ The political pundit also stressed the importance of the reforms, in order to improve the living of Moldova’s residents.    

„The need of change, especially in the legal system, will be felt even more at the moment when EU will clearly say that, without these reforms in justice, the allocation of important funds for Moldova will not be possible, as EU does not want the repeating of previous cases, when European funds were allocated to states which did not observe their signature put on the documents signed with the European Union. This will be a difficult period, after this period of euphoria is over; yet, certainly, any period of preparation for entering a new family, such as EU, is a period when we have occasion to get rid of old habits of corruption or habits in which certain peculiarities of the society, I mean negative peculiarities, were visible. Of course, this is a chance to create a better future for the residents from Moldova.      

No matter how the next period unfolds, Moldova’s population will have in Romania, in continuation, one of the most important advocates at the EU’s level, the Romanian political analyst said. At the same time, he underlined that the voters of Moldova would have to prove maturity and understanding of the confidence which they had got on behalf of EU at the presidential elections due in 2024 and the parliamentary elections in 2025.     

„This confidence given by EU must be understood by the electorate from Moldova and these electors must have the maturity to understand that the pro-European power must be maintained in Chisinau also following the parliamentary polls due in 2025, in order to avoid a possible establishing in Moldova of a regime similar to the one from Georgia, where we see a governance which mimes a hybrid integration into EU against a background of rapprochement with Russia,’’ the expert opined.     

According to the Romanian political pundit, Moldova is under the influence of two major pressures: Russia’s war and the reminiscences of the Soviet period. At the same time, the country might manage easier than Romania on the pre-accession period and according to Mihai Isac, the first effects of the rapprochement with EU might be felt in the next two years.  

„Moldova is also under the pressure of the hybrid war launched by Russia; it is also under the pressure of the endemic corruption, which is also a heritage of the  Soviet and post-Soviet period, when Moscow used criminal elements against Moldova’s stability and most likely, the first signs of these acts might be felt in one or two years.’’   

„In Romania, the first effects were felt later, due to the fact that Romania is a larger country than Moldova; yet, Moldova, being a smaller state, certainly with pretty big problems, but being a smaller state, it will able to easier benefit from the Romanian experience and of other states, in order to be able to better absorb the funds due to be made available. We must understand that not only the funds given directly from the European Union, but also the funds given bilaterally by France, Germany or Romania, or other countries, are also European funds, but only EU tries to identify ways of backing Moldova commensurate with the efforts made by Moldova for reform.’’   

The Romanian analyst made an urge also to the politicians from Moldova ‘’to hide the axe of war’’ and understand that the event held in Luxembourg on the last days is of historical importance, ‘’an event which must not be sabotaged because of the personal ambitions.’’