President Moldavië: "onze democratie heeft EU steun nodig" (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Moldova's chance to become a real democracy depends on EU political and financial support as well as the new government's commitment to reforms, the country's interim president said in an interview.
Only a week after the new Moldovan premier and foreign minister came to Brussels to meet the heads of EU and Nato institutions, the country's interim president, Mihai Ghimpu, also visited the EU capital on Tuesday (6 October) on his first official trip abroad.
"This is how we are going to work. One week in Chisinau, one in Brussels," he joked to the EUobserver, during his visit to the European Parliament.
Recently elected speaker of the Moldovan parliament, the leader of the Liberal Party is the interim head of state until 23 October, when the legislature is set to elect the country's president.
The current pro-Western alliance lacks eight votes to elect its own candidate. But Mr Ghimpu is confident that no parliamentary group wants to trigger early elections, especially since the constitution would only allow them to be organised next spring.
Turning to the scope of his visit, Mr Ghimpu talked about his country's "most pressing need" - to overcome the economic crisis.
"We still have money for salaries and pensions for another one to two months," the Liberal politician said. "But then we'll have a problem."
The Communist Party, which had governed the country since 2001 "left a state with no economy, a deficit of €500 million, foreign debt and promised to increase salaries and pensions in order to get more votes," he explained.
Embezzlement, corruption and state monopolies were the rule with the former government, he added.
"We are the poorest country in Europe, but with one of the wealthiest political elites - the Communists."
The country has been promised a "substantial assistance package" by the EU commission, but no money can start to flow until Chisinau signs an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
"We can't overcome the crisis alone," the president said. Asked about the hundreds of millions promised by Russia and China in the run-up to the elections, Mr Ghimpu said he preferred "serious commitments, not empty promises."
"The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development promised €100 million for infrastructure projects, the US €170 million for infrastructure and sewage systems, but for now we need to fill the budget gap."
Aiming at EU membership
A commission official present at the debate with MEPs on Tuesday evening confirmed the commitment of the EU executive to helping the new democratic government. Apart from the macro-economic stabilisation package to be negotiated with the IMF, the commission is also sending experts to the various ministries that deal with EU-inspired reforms.
The declared aim of Moldova's new four-party coalition named the "Alliance for European Integration" is EU accession, Mr Ghimpu said, while admitting this was a long term goal.
The first step is upcoming negotiations on a new EU-Moldova Association Agreement. Explicit wording on the accession perspective for Moldova is unlikely, as is the prospect of being included in the same "package" as the western Balkan countries, which are all in line for membership.
However, the Swedish EU presidency has signalled that the agreement will "go beyond" the current partnership formula. The only precondition for starting negotiations has already been fulfilled: lifting visas for Romanian citizens. The measure was imposed by the Communist regime as retaliation for what it believed to be Romanian-organised street protests following the fraudulent April elections.
The EU parliament and the commission requested a full investigation into the street violence and brutal police crackdown which followed.
"A broad international inquiry committee, comprising representatives of the European Parliament, Council of Europe, UN and all the political parties, including the Communists, will be set up very soon. We already set up a working group to prepare the composition of this committee," Mr Ghimpu told MEPs.
Romanian MEP Monica Macovei, head of the EU-Moldova delegation, stressed the need for the "judicial truth" to be established, independently from the political inquiry. "Regardless of what the government and the political parties are undertaking, for instance if they settle with the victims, the criminal investigations need to be pursued," she said.
Russian troubles
With its openly declared pro-Western course and increased co-operation with Nato, the new team in Chisinau has put itself on collision course with Moscow. But Mr Ghimpu said that Moldova-Russia relations will remain "normal."
"We can't ignore its market or its force," he said. Similarly to Georgia, Moldova also has a Russian-backed 'frozen conflict' in its backyard, in the separatist region of Transnistria, a thin slice of land along its eastern border with Ukraine. Russia still has troops and ammunition stationed in the area, despite withdrawal commitments made in the 1990s.
"The key to solving the Transnistrian problem is in Moscow," Mr Ghimpu says. "Besides having the 14th Russian army stationed there, Moscow also has 'peacekeepers' deployed, which is an obvious conflict of interests. That's why we're calling for an international mission," he explained, again pinning his hopes on EU assistance.
"I hope the day will come when Moscow leaders will understand that they will be respected only by treating other states correctly and according to democratic principles," he said.
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