Moldavië hoopt 'in de rugzak' van Roemenië de EU in te komen (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Romania's membership of the EU will bring Moldova a step closer to joining the club, Moldova's ambassador to the EU told EUobserver, but the spectre of the Transniestrian conflict hangs over EU integration efforts.

"When Romania enters the EU, hopefully on 1 January 2007, this will open new possibilities for Moldova," Eugen Carpov said. "It will be a new stage in our relations with the EU. It will be a political signal to the people of Moldova."

Russian gas pipelines supplying breakaway Moldovan republic Transniestria as well as Moldova also feed Romania and Bulgaria, meaning any Russian gas cuts to post-2007 Moldova will hit fully-fledged EU member states.

Romania and Moldova, speaking the same language, see each other as "strategic partners" the envoy explained, with Chisinau already working on adoption of the Romanian-language version of the vast body of EU law.

Over 70 percent of Moldovans would vote for EU entry in a referendum today with no "serious" opposition parties against the move in parliament, he added.

The bloc's existing relations with Moldova are governed by neighbourhood policy agreements that expire in 2008 and carry no promise of accession, with some EU officials seeing post-Soviet countries as a potential "bridge" to Russia rather than future EU members.

"We want to have a clear perspective for future membership of the EU [in any post-2008 agreements], Mr Carpov stated. "Moldova is a European country. It has no other future."

Chisinau is "realistic" that "now is not the best time to discuss in concrete terms the time when Moldova will be accepted as a member" however, with the EU facing absorption challenges on the 2004 and 2007 rounds of enlargement.

Moldova is one of Europe's poorest countries with income per capita four times lower than Romania's and 15 times lower than in France.

The steel, textile and vodka-producing eastern region of Transniestria broke off from Moldova 16 years ago with no immediate prospect of reunification.

"Our main priority is to settle the conflict and then look toward other future developments [such as EU membership]," Mr Carpov indicated, saying European integration and conflict resolution are "interconnected."

Chisinau's peace plan envisages: shutting down Transniestrian black market trade; replacing Russia's 1,100 to 1,600 troops in Transniestria with UN-mandated peacekeepers and getting OSCE and EU election monitors to help organise democratic elections in Tiraspol.

The EU recently intervened by supporting Ukraine's decision to block black market exports from Transniestria on 3 March and by monitoring enforcement of the customs deal with a 50-strong border control mission.

"We hope the EU and US as observers [in the Transniestria settlement talks] can influence the process," Mr Carpov said. "They have to use their influence on Transniestria and Russia to be more cooperative."

The Transniestria customs deal will be a "test" of the European integration credentials of Ukraine's new post-election government, he added.

But the peace process has a tough time ahead, with Moscow getting behind Tiraspol in calling the customs move an EU-backed "economic blockade," putting its Transniestrian troops on alert and sending in aid trucks to prevent an alleged "humanitarian crisis."

Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin and Transniestrian leader Igor Smirnov refuse to speak to each other, with Moldovan diplomats saying that Russian-born Mr Smirnov's sole motivation is to amass as much money as he can and retire in Russia.

Asked if any future deal on Transniestria could involve power-sharing with Mr Smirnov, EU ambassador Mr Carpov replied "I think no."