Speech by President Herman Van Rompuy at the Palace of the Republic, Chisinau, Moldova
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EUROPEAN COUNCIL THE PRESIDENT EN Chisinau, 13 May 2014 EUCO 104/14 PRESSE 279 PR PCE 94 Speech by President Herman Van Romp y at the Palace of the Rep blic, Chisina , Moldova I am pleased to return to Chisinau since my last visit here in July 2011. I thank you all – all the people of Moldova – for this warm reception. It is good to be with you a couple of days only after the celebration of Europe Day in your beautiful country and capital city. Let me seize this opportunity for a short flashback on what the European Union is about and what the 9th of May means to the history of our continent. It was the day, back in 1950, when the French foreign minister invited the countries of Europe and in particular Germany to overcome the bitterness and enmity of wars, and to start a new, positive beginning. To build a European Community, today's Union. So Europe Day is not about war, not about victory and defeat, not about frustration and revenge - all this should remain in the past. No, it celebrates successful building of an area of peace, freedom, democracy, stability and unsurpassed prosperity on our continent; our continent, which is and remains immensely diverse, where different cultures, traditions, languages, religions, histories meet. In the European Union, all nations, no matter how different or antagonised they happened to be in the past, have learnt to work together, to replace confrontation with cooperation, tolerance and reconciliation; and to make peace, stability and prosperity real for all the people. In one word, to turn fear and mistrust into openness and hope. This is the European miracle; this is why the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 2012. Among our countries, no nostalgia for a ‘glorious’ past that will never return, no border conflicts that seek strength at the expense of one’s neighbour, no cycles of defeat and revenge – all have turned the page and look with confidence to the future. P R E S S Dirk De Backer - Spokesperson of the President - ( +32 (0)2 281 9768 - +32 (0)497 59 99 19 Preben Aamann - Deputy Spokesperson of the President - ( +32 (0)2 281 2060 - +32 (0)476 85 05 43 [email protected] http://www.european-council.europa.eu/the-president EUCO 104/14 1 EN Cooperation and democracy, our values, do not only guide the European Union's own policies at home, but also our external action, our approach in the wider world. Nowhere is this more important, and nowhere are the people in partner societies more engaged , than in the countries closest to us, especially those on the European continent. Your country's ties with this adventure will soon become even stronger, with the signature at the end of June of the Association Agreement we have jointly developed to pursue these goals. It does not just mean strengthening relations between Chisinau and 'Brussels'; but between your country and all the member states of the European Union. That is why this document will be signed, not only by your Prime Minister, but also by the Presidents or Prime-Ministers of these 28 countries, when they will all gather in Brussels in June for the European Council summit I have convened. And on their behalf, as European Council president, I can say we are all fully behind this and I want to congratulate your country on this imminent step. The Association Agreement will bring a positive dynamic of dialogue, stability and prosperity. Moldova can do it, you can do it. Moldova is a European country – by history, by geography, by its way of life and culture. Back in the 15th century, the whole of Europe cheered when your Stephen the Great won important battles and preserved the independence of your nation. Today the links are numerous between your citizens and so many others across our continent – family, friends, business partners from London to Bucharest and from Lisbon to Bratislava… You perhaps feel different from your neighbours? But we in Europe ALL feel different from our neighbours! And yet we do share this common space, these beautiful lands, which the ancient Greeks, on the other side of the Black Sea, called Europa. All this is why other Europeans are sympathetic towards your country. You deserve a bright future; a future in a free and open society, where you and your families will be effectively protected by the rule of law; where courts and law enforcement bodies will serve the law, and only the law; and where you and your children will be empowered to realise all their aspirations. And where, perhaps for the first time in Moldova's long history, lasting prosperity will not be long to blossom. EUCO 104/14 2 EN Ladies and gentlemen, Late last month, just two weeks ago, you, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, received the right to enter freely, without visas, the countries of the European Union. You were the first, the very first, of all the citizens living in the countries directly to the European Union's East to have this opportunity. Moldova is the trailblazer now! At the same time, as our common aviation area is coming into place, air travel is becoming cheaper. This is good for you, for family contacts, for businesses, for students. We stand by our promises. These are main achievements in a process that started almost a decade ago with the aim of strengthening our ties. Since then (and the action plan of 2005) your country has made stunning progress on this path. Let me congratulate all those who have led or contributed to this journey. Let me express respect for those whose relentless efforts these past few years have made it possible for Moldova to launch essential reforms and achieve important results. The European Union acknowledges the European aspirations and the European choice of Moldova as well as that of other countries in the Eastern Partnership. Efforts now have to concentrate on the signing and implementation of the Association Agreement, ensuring that Moldova and all its citizens can benefit from this closer relationship. The Association Agreement is not the final goal in our cooperation. Ladies and gentlemen, First things first. These days there seems to be some hot debating around the Association Agreement. Obviously, in the run-up to important elections, this is no big surprise; even great opportunities can fall prey to the pressure of political campaigning. So let me clarify three things in this regard: First. We, the European Union, are not taking sides in Moldovan politics; we are interested in policy outcomes. We want to see our cooperation yield positive results for the citizens of Moldova and those of the Union. I feel encouraged by recent statistics: in the past six years since our action plan has started to bear fruit, your economy has grown by 4% on average per year. Our bilateral trade, despite the global economic crisis, has gone up by a third. In the World Bank ranking for "Ease of doing business", Moldova has moved up ten places; and seven places in the corruption index of Transparency International. Nevertheless, the fight against corruption should remain high on the political agenda. It is crucial in many respects, and I am convinced you can do much better. These few figures give ground for being optimistic about Moldova's future. I could add concrete examples of what has already been done in recent years with EU support: road repairs; new water sanitation systems; new off-farm jobs in rural areas; more respect for human rights; more fight against drugs. EUCO 104/14 3 EN The funds the European Union has invested in Moldova have gone up massively in recent times – from 23 million euro in 2006 to 135 million euro last year. Much of this money helps your economy to be ready for the free trade area, but it is also invested in concrete projects. And not just here in Chisinau, but all across the country! For instance, last year close to 7 million euro went to the Gagauzia and Taraclia region. Let me mention one other concrete field of cooperation: energy. All EU countries are working hard to reduce their energy dependency and hence to bring prices down. It is about competitiveness, for industry, about a better standard of living, for citizens, and about security, for the country as a whole. So that is why all our countries work to ensure diversification of energy supplies. They invest in alternatives. Your country, particularly dependent on Russian gas imports, faces the same challenge and thanks to closer connections between you and us, you will benefit from our work too. Energy connectors are crucial here. That is why the European Union financially supports the interconnector that is currently being built between Iasi (in Romania) and Ungheni (in Moldova). Romania has completed its part of the work; Moldova should be able to do so by July, so that a first import of gas from Romania will take place, if all goes according to plan, on…27 August! I do not have to tell this audience the significance for your country of that Day! These and other results show that reforms work. Even if things are not easy and straightforward, the progress is real. You are moving in the right direction. However, I also understand, when the journey is so long, that it is natural to feel lost sometimes. Hence the importance of keeping this sense of overall direction: Moldova can become the country that you deserve – open, tolerant, competitive, free, truly independent.