Policy Brief About the Foreign Policy Evolution of the Republic of Moldova During the Period of 2009-2019

Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

The opinions and information contained in this analytical material belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Contents Acronyms and abbreviations...... 4 About the experts...... 6 The Western development vector of the Republic of Moldova (between 2009 - 2019). The relationship with the European Union and Romania, Ion Tăbârță...... 8 The relationship between Republic of Moldova with the EU...... 9 The political dialogue...... 9 Economic and trade cooperation ...... 13 Mobility and people to people contact...... 15 Conclusions and recommendations...... 17 The bilateral relations between the Republic of Moldova and Romania...... 18 Political dialogue...... 18 Economic cooperation...... 20 Cultural relation ...... 23 Conclusions and recommendations...... 24 The Moldovan-Ukrainian relations in the context of euro integration policy dynamics, Natalia Stercul...... 26 The dynamics of bilateral political dialogue...... 26 Trade, economic and energy cooperation...... 28 Conclusions and recommendations...... 31 Republic of Moldova: from stagnation and regress to search for the optimal format of cooperation with the Russian Federation and the CIS, Natalia Stercul...... 32 Peculiarities of the Moldovan-Russian political dialogue...... 32 Trade and economic cooperation...... 34 Relations between the Republic of Moldova and the CIS ...... 35 Conclusions and recommendations...... 37 Moldova’s relations with Poland and the Visegrád Group, Oktawian Milewski...... 39 The relevance of Poland and the role of the Visegrád Group...... 39 The Polish foreign policy in the East...... 41 The Romanian “Nexus” in Poland’s relationship with Moldova...... 42 The current state of the relationship between Moldova and Poland ...... 43 Conclusions and recommendations...... 44 The bilateral relations of the Republic of Moldova with the USA. Multilateral cooperation within the UN, GUAM, the Council of Europe in 2009-2019: Hopes and Disillusionment on the Background of Excessive Politicization, Mihai Popșoi...... 46 The bilateral relations of the Republic of Moldova with the USA...... 46 The multilateral cooperation of the Republic of Moldova within the United Nations. 49 The multilateral cooperation of the Republic of Moldova within the GUAM...... 51 The multilateral cooperation of the Republic of Moldova with the Council of the Europe – PACE...... 53 Conclusions and recommendations ...... 56 Moldova-NATO Partnership: from modernizing the security and defense sector to societal security, Victoria Roșa...... 57 Institutional cooperation framework Republic of Moldova - NATO...... 57 Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP)...... 60 Scientific cooperation...... 61 Implementation of bilateral projects through other NATO assistance mechanisms..... 61 How is NATO perceived in the Republic of Moldova...... 62 Conclusions and recommendations ...... 63

Study elaborated within the project “Moldovan foreign policy white book – Evolution of the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova 2009-2019”, financed by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and implemented by the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova Implementation period July-December 2019 4 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

Acronyms and abbreviations AA Association Agreement ACUM Electoral bloc consisted of Action and Solidarity Party and the Dignity and Truth Platform Party AIE Alliance for European Integration BI Building Integrity BPO Barometer of Public Opinion CIS Commonwealth of Independent States CoE Council of Europe CPDD UN Partnership Framework - Republic of Moldova for Sustainable Development CSF Civil Society Forum DCBI Defense Capacity Building Initiative DCFTA Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area DPM The Democratic Party of Moldova ECHR European Court of Human Rights ENPI European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument EP Eastern Partnership EU European Union EVI European Neighborhood Instrument FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) HMMWV High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle ILO International Labor Organization IPAP Individual Partnership Action Plan negotiated IPP Individual Partnership Program IVF International Visegrad Fund KFOR UN / NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo MFAEI Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration MNBG-W Multinational Battle Group-West NAC North Atlantic Council NACC North Atlantic Cooperation Council NAFS National Agency for Food Safety NAMSO NATO Organization for Maintenance and Supply NAPIAA National Action Plan for the Implementation of the Association Agreement NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 5

ODA Official Development Aid OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PACE Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PARP Planning and Review Process PCA Partnership and Cooperation Agreement PCM Partnership Cooperation Menu PfP Partnership for Peace PGG The Partnership for Good Governance PiS The Law and Justice Party RF Russian Federation RM The Republic of Moldova RoAid Romania’s International Development Cooperation Agency SME Small and Medium Enterprise SPRM Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova SPS Science for Peace and Security Program TVR Romanian Public Television UN United Nations Organization UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women UNAMA United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan UNDP The United Nations Development Programme UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund UNICEF The United Nations Children’s Fund UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization USA The United States of America V4 Visegrad Four V4 Plus Visegrad Four Plus V4EaP Visegrad Four Eastern Partnership Program WHO World Health Organization 6 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

About the experts Ion Tăbârță holds a Bachelor degree in history (the Moldova State University) and political science (the National School of Political and Administrative Studies, Bucharest), as well has master degree in international relations (University of Bucha- rest). He is working as an expert at the Institute for Develop- ment and Social Initiatives (IDIS) “Viitorul”. Between 2003- 2019 he worked as a university lecturer, teaching the following courses: Foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova, Political history of the Republic of Moldova, Democratic transition and Conflictology. Ion is the author of several scientific materials and analytical notes on the foreign and domestic policy of the Republic of Moldova. In the public space Ion Tăbârță is known as a political analyst.

Natalia Stercul is a political scientist, PhD, expert and Pro- gram Director, Eastern Studies Department: Ukraine and Russia, Foreign Policy Association of Moldova. As an expert on Eastern studies, Natalia actively collaborates with civil society organizations from Moldova and abroad. As well, she contributes through didactic activities to the development of the young generation of leaders due to their involvement in community projects and participation in social-political processes. She has higher education in the field of International Relations at the Moldova State University and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. Natalia Stercul is the author of over 60 scientific papers.

Oktawian Milewski, native from Moldova, is an expert in Central and East Europe area studies. Since 2015 he is affili- ated to the Graduate School of Social Research, the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy, where he specializes in the political sociology of the spaces on the EU’s Eastern border. Oktawian is also the RFI Romania’s correspondent in Poland. He graduated the College of Europe (2015), the University of Bucharest (2005), the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (2003) and the State University of Balti (2001).

Mihai Popșoi is the deputy-president of the Action and Soli- darity Party and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Re- public of Moldova. He is a candidate for PhD degree in political studies at the University of Milan. He is a member of the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova, where he previously worked as an associate expert. He worked as a political analyst in the political-economic section within the United States Em- Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 7

bassy to the Republic of Moldova from 2010 to 2014, and previously worked for the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Chisinau. Mihai Popșoi holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in international relations from the Moldova State University, as well he holds a master degree in public policy from York University, the United Kingdom and the Central Eu- ropean University, Hungary. Mihai Popșoi also has a personal page – MoldovanPolitics.com

Victoria Roșa – is a foreign policy and security expert. Mrs. Roșa served as Senior Security and Defence / EU affairs Ad- viser of the Moldovan Prime-minister Maia Sandu. Prior to that she held for more than 2 years the position of Executive Di- rector of the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova. She holds a BA and MA degree in international relations, political and administrative sciences from the Moldova State University. Between 2005-2010, Victoria worked as a lecturer at the Inter- national Relations Department, Moldova State University as well as joined the activity of various nongovernmental organ- isations. From April 2018 till July 2019, Victoria moderated the daily evening political talk-show ”Punctul pe azi” on the Na- tional Romanian Television TVR, Moldovan branch. She is the author of several publications on foreign and security policies, and Moldova’s relation with the European Union. Mrs. Roșa has provided expertise to national and international organi- sations in the framework of various thematic programs (Free- dom House, Austrian Ministry of Defense, Latvian Institute of International Affairs, Leipzig University, TAMPERE Peace Research Institute, etc.). Victoria Roșa is a 2017 Alumni of the Marshall Memorial Fellowship of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. 8 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

The Western development vector of the Republic of Moldova (between 2009 - 2019). The relationship with the European Union and Romania

Ion Tăbârță Moldovan citizens can travel freely in the EU using biometric passports. During Expert, Institute for Development and Social the last 5 years over 2 million Moldovans Initiatives (IDIS) “Viitorul” enjoyed the opportunity to travel without restrictions in the Community area. In Starting with 2009, the European Moldova an extensive process of social development vector with the declared and institutional modernization has purpose of European Union (EU) begun, so far steadily. The delays that integration is the main priority of our state has in implementing AA do Republic of Moldova’s (RM) domestic not yet make visible its positive effects and foreign policy. The chronological on the Moldovan citizens’ welfare. The evolution of the relations between main impediment to the rapid progress Republic of Moldova and EU during of the AA implementation is the 2009-2019 can be divided into two basic insufficient political will of the Chisinau stages: 1) 2009-2014 - preparation and governments. signing of the Association Agreement (AA); 2) 2014-2019 - the implementation Romania is the natural ally of Moldova in by the Republic of Moldova of the AA. In achieving the European path. After 2009, these years, the nature of the Moldovan a series of issues that caused tensions in - Community relations went through the relationship between the two states powerful metamorphoses - from «success until then, in terms of identity, language story», in 2010-2012, to a problematic and history, ceased to be a priority on the state, in 2015-2019. bilateral agenda, as Moldova radically changed its attitude towards Romania. The After 10 years of priority relations with two countries have worked wonderfully the EU and 5 years after the entry into in several areas. The blue prints of the force of the AA, with all the difficulties Moldovan - Romanian bilateral relations of implementation, Moldova has were established through a strategic gone through a series of important partnership between the two states for developments and transformations for the the European integration of Moldova Moldovan society. The AA has generated signed in 2010. The new dynamic of the some processes that already have an Moldovan - Romanian relations focused impact for the Republic of Moldova. The on the political, economic and cultural EU has become the main trading partner dimension has been reflected through a of the Republic of Moldova, about 70% of series of high-level reciprocal visits, the Moldovan exports go to the Community signing of several bilateral agreements market, the amount reaching up to and the permanent support granted by almost 2 billion USD. Since April 2014, Romania to Moldova. Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 9

The upward dynamics of Moldovan Moldova, other large Romanian programs - Romanian relations is eloquently and investment projects in the Republic of manifested through the trade exchanges Moldova are missing. Another important between the two states, Romania aspect of the Moldovan - Romanian becoming, since 2014, the first trading relationship is the insufficient presence partner of the Republic of Moldova. of Romania in the Republic of Moldova’s An important aspect of the Moldovan - media and information space, which Romanian relationship is the cooperation gives it linguistic, historical and cultural in the energy field, emphasizing the affinity. interconnection of the natural gas and electricity systems of the two countries. In this paragraph of the study, the Moldova is the main beneficiary of relations between the Republic of Romanian development assistance, most Moldova and the EU and the bilateral of the financial assistance being provided Moldovan - Romanian cooperation in the field of education. Traditionally, between 2009-2019 are related. The the Moldovan - Romanian relationship two strategic relations of the Republic in the cultural field is a close one. of Moldova have been presented from However, the potential of Moldovan - the perspective of the chronological Romanian cooperation has not been yet evolution and the analysis of the existing fully exploited. Apart from the project problems, both in the relations with the of energy connection of the Republic of EU and with Romania.

The relationship between Republic of Moldova with the EU

The political dialogue tegration (AEI), established on Septem- ber 25, 2009, decided on November 13, Negotiation of the Association Agree- 2009 to start negotiations of the Associ- ment. In May 2009, the European Union ation Agreement (AA) with the EU. The included the Republic of Moldova, along dialogue between Moldova and the EU with 5 other post-Soviet states (Belarus, included three levels of negotiation: the Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbai- AA framework document, the Deep and jan), in the European Neighborhood Pol- Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) icy Eastern Partnership (EaP). The pur- and the visa liberalized regime. Due to pose of the EaP institutional project is to the commitment shown by both parties, strengthen the political association and the technical negotiations on the AA be- economic integration with the EU of the tween the Republic of Moldova and the six post-Soviet states in Eastern Europe EU have been dynamic, being completed and South Caucasus. on all three levels in 2013. An important aspect of the negotiations was the insis- The declared pro-European government tence of the Republic of Moldova to ob- in Chisinau - Alliance for European In- tain from the EU a clear European per- 10 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

spective by mentioning in the agreement the moment the negotiations started the possibility of obtaining the candidate and until the signing of the AA, the Re- state status. Despite all the efforts made public of Moldova passed through some by the Moldovan diplomacy, Chisinau difficult institutional reforms, carrying failed to obtain from Brussels the guar- out a series of reforms and legislative antee of the subsequent political integra- changes that brought Moldova closer to tion of the Republic of Moldova into the the EU institutional rules. AA replaced EU by stipulating in the text of the AA a the Partnership and Cooperation Agree- potential candidate-state status in the fu- ment (PCA), raising to a higher level the ture. On November 28-29, 2013, at the EaP institutional relationship of the Republic summit in Vilnius Moldova initialed the of Moldova with the EU. Unlike the PCA, AA text with the EU. AA is a more complex document, which regulates the relations of the Republic of Signing of the Association Agreement. Moldova with the EU in various fields, On April 28, 2014, the Council of the Euro- the implementation of which should have pean Union amended the EU Regulation a final goal modernizing and democratiz- on the abolition of the visa requirement ing the country. for short-term travel in the Schengen area for Moldovan citizens holding the biomet- Implementation of the Association ric passport. 1 After fulfilling a number Agreement. The priorities of the AA im- of conditions required by the EU, such as plementation are established through the the adoption of equality law (so-called an- Association Agenda negotiated by the ti-discrimination law) highly mediatized Government of the Republic of Moldova in the society, Moldova was the first state with the European Commission. On June in the EaP to meet all the criteria of the 26, 2014, the EU-Moldova Association Visa Liberalization Action Plan. Agenda for the years 2014-2016 was adopted. The second RM - EU Association On June 27, 2014, in Brussels, together Agenda for the years 2017-2019 was ad- with Ukraine and Georgia, the Republic opted on August 19, 2017. AA is a complex of Moldova signed the AA with the EU. and multidimensional document, which The Moldovan Parliament ratified the AA contains mandatory provisions, regu- on July 2, 2014. 2 The AA officially -en latory norms and cooperation arrange- tered into force as of January 1, 2016, af- ments. At the domestic level, the tool for ter being ratified by all EU states. From implementing the AA provisions is the 1 Regulation (EU) No 259/2014 of the European National Action Plan for the implemen- Parliament and of the Council of April 3, 2014 amending the Council Regulation (EC) No 391/2001 establishing the tation of the Moldova - EU Association list of third countries whose nationals must hold visas for Agreement (PNAAA). On October 7, 2014, crossing external borders and the list of third countries whose nationals are exempted from this obligation. the Government approved the PNAAA / https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/RO/TXT/ for the years 2014-2016, and on December HTML/?uri=CELEX:32014R0259&from=RO 30, 2016 - the PNAAA for 2017-2019. The 2 Law no. 112 of 02.07.2014 for the ratification of the Asso- PNAAA indicates the deadlines for the ciation Agreement between the Republic of Moldova, on the one hand, and the European Union and the European Atomic / http://lex.justice.md/index.php?action= Energy Community and their Member States, on the other. view&view=doc&lang=1&id=353829 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 11

completion of the Republic of Moldova’s pends the positive results to be issued by commitments in accordance with the AA the AA for the Republic of Moldova. and the institutions responsible for implementing the actions. Moldova - EU in- The impediments in the implementation stitutional cooperation is carried out us- of AA by the RM can be explained by ing several platforms, the EU - Moldova technical problems, which require time Association Council being the hierarchi- to be removed. Problematic was the im- cally - superior Moldovan - Community plementation of qualitative reforms in institution. key areas, which can be explained by the lack of political will. From the interviews Challenges conducted with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Europe- Lack of progress in carrying out reforms an Integration, could be concluded that in key areas. In implementing AA, the often important bills for the implemen- Republic of Moldova recorded substantial tation of the AA were not a priority for backlogs. The report of the Ministry of the parliamentary factions, their adop- Foreign Affairs and European Integration tion being unjustifiably delayed. The lack (MFAEU) on the quantitative realization of political will was more visible in the of the PNAAA for the years 2014-2016 at- key areas impeding the success of the tests an implementation in the proportion reforms in justice and the fight against of 73.73%, the rate of harmonization of the corruption. The most important political national legislation with the acquis com- message that came from Brussels in the munautaire provided by the Agreement period 2009-2019 regarding the internal being of 34% from the whole number of policy of the Republic of Moldova re- EU acts. 3 Alternative reports on the im- ferred to the justice reform and the fight plementation of AA made by civil society against corruption (the Republic of Mol- show a lower percentage than the one an- dova is ranked 117 out of 180 in the 2018 nounced by MFAEU - 63.1% of the actions corruption perception index). Without of the first PNAAA being accomplished. progress in reforming these areas Moldo- The implementation of the AA provisions va will not be able to advance in the polit- in practice consists of two distinct stages: ical dialogue with the EU. 1) the (quantitative) transposition of Eu- ropean acts into the national legislation The banking crisis. By signing the AA, and 2) the (qualitative) implementation in Moldova has taken more commitments in practice of the new legislation adopted. relation to the EU. In the first year of AA In the transposition chapter, we attest, implementation, the Republic of Moldova although with some delays, a good reflec- went through a political crisis and a large tion of the European acts in the national bank fraud. Consequently, the declared legislation. The challenges appear in the pro-European political parties in govern- implementation chapter, on which de- ment have drastically decreased in the 3 Progress report on the level of implementation of the preferences of the electorate, the negative National Action Plan for the implementation of the Asso- ciation Agreement Republic of Moldova - European Union image of the EIA components having a di- 2014-2016. / https://mfa.gov.md/ro/content/rapoarte-aa rect reflection on the popularity of the EU 12 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

■■ governance of the public and finan- among the population. According to the cial sector; data of the Barometer of Public Opinion ■■ the fight against corruption and (BOP), the EU decreased in the preferenc- money laundering; es of the population from 67% in July 2009 ■ to 40% in March 2015. 4 After the banking ■ energy sector reforms; crisis, the EU suspended the budget sup- ■■ business climate and implementa- port granted to Moldova. In order to un- tion of the DCFTA. lock the macro-financial assistance granted to Moldova, the EU introduced at the The deterioration of democracy and the end of 2017 the conditionality policy in its rule of law. The Moldovan government relationship with Chisinau. The EU and consciously did not comply with the provi- the Republic of Moldova signed a mem- sions of the November 2017 memorandum, orandum of understanding5 in Novem- registering in 2018 political and legal dem- ber 2017 according to which in order to ocratic downfalls, the state institutions re-activate the budget support assistance being overly politicized. The degradation (in the amount of 100 million euros), the of the Moldovan democracy became visi- Government of Chisinau was to carry out ble after the invalidation of the elections a series of actions agreed with the EU. in Chisinau municipality. On July 5, 2018, These actions refer to the implementation the European Parliament adopted a reso- of reforms in the following areas: lution6 providing for the suspension of the 4 Public Opinion Barometer. Institute of Public Policy. macro-financial assistance for the Repub- / http://ipp.md/sectiuni/barometrul-opiniei-publice/ lic of Moldova due to the failure to comply 5 Memorandum of Understanding between the with the political preconditions stipulat- Republic of Moldova and the National Bank of Mol- dova as a financial agent of the beneficiary and the ed in the memorandum between the EU European Union. / http://lex.justice.md/index. and the Republic of Moldova signed at php?action=view&view=doc&lang=1&id=373730 the end of 2017. Restoring democracy and 6 European Parliament resolution of July 5th, 2018 on

Table No. 1 Financial assistance provided by the EU to the Republic of Moldova (2009 -2018)

Amount Area Million Euros DCFTA 36,0 Agriculture 73,6 Economy and business development 57,0 Energy 78,8 Transport and infrastructure 174,5 Environment and sustainable development 68,6 Justice and Police 83,7 Others 47,6 Total 619, 8

Source: The platform of EU-funded technical assistance projects in the Republic of Moldova (www.eu4moldova.md/ro) Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 13

Table No. 2 The exports and imports of the Republic of Moldova into the EU (2009 - 2018)

Exports Imports Year mil. Dollars USD % mil. Dollars USD %

2009 678,5 51,9 1422,5 43,4 2010 746,5 47,2 1704,2 44,2 2011 1087,0 48,8 2256,6 43,5 2012 1013,4 46,9 2318,7 44,5 2013 1140,9 46,8 2472,8 45,0 2014 1246,0 53,3 2567,7 48,3 2015 1217,6 61,9 1954,1 49,0 2016 1 332,4 65,1 1 973,7 49,09 2017 1596,9 65,8 2389,1 49,45 2018 1862,1 68,8 2 851,7 49,47

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova (www.statistica.gov.md) the rule of law by depoliticizing the state Republic of Moldova financial resources institutions is the fundamental condition for energy interconnection as well as for set forward by the EU in order to relaunch energy and transport infrastructure. The the Moldovan - Community dialogue in a EU financially assists numerous themat- constructive dynamic. ic packages in the Republic of Moldova, supporting civil society and local public Economic and trade cooperation administration, investing in numerous infrastructure projects. Financial assistance. The EU is the largest donor of the Republic of Moldova, provid- DCFTA. The EU is the main trading part- ing financial assistance to support politi- ner of Moldova, the percentage of exports cal and economic reforms and providing being almost 70% and of the imports humanitarian aid. Between 2007 and 2013, around 50%. Over the last 10 years, the the EU assisted the Republic of Moldova sum of Moldovan exports to the EU coun- through the European Neighborhood and tries has been, with some minor excep- Partnership Instrument (ENPI), and from tions, constantly increasing. This amount 2014 to 2020 through the European Neigh- has increased about three times - from $ borhood Instrument (ENPI). EU assistance 678.5 million to nearly $ 1.9 billion. The has focused on the justice, economy, and EU countries where Moldova exports the education sectors. The energy field is a most are Romania (29.27%), Italy (11.44%) strategic one in the Moldovan - Communi- and Germany (8.12%). In comparison, Rus- taire relationship, the EU allocating to the sia’s share in the geography of Moldovan exports in 2018 was 8.08%, Moldova ex- the political crisis in Moldova following the invalidation of local elections in Chisinau (2018/2783 (RSP)). porting to CIS countries in the amount of / https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc- US $ 416 million. ument/TA-8-2018-0303_RO.html?redirect 14 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

DCFTA is the instrument that applied wheat, wines and corn. For other prod- progressively contributes to the stimula- ucts, Moldova is not able to capitalize on tion and creation of the necessary condi- the volume of tariff quotas agreed with tions for the growth of Moldovan exports the EU, such as fresh apples or tomatoes. to EU countries. Since the beginning of The tariff quotas of some products (for the DCFTA implementation, Moldovan example, garlic and grape juice) have not exports on the EU market have increased been capitalized at all. by approximately $ 678.5 million. Speak- ing of foreign trade, this is the most visi- Another problematic aspect of Moldovan ble results of the AA implementation be- products is the restricted geographical tween Moldova and the EU. The leading area in the countries where they are ex- EU member states where Moldovan goods ported. Agri-food products are mainly are exported are the following: Romania, oriented to three markets (Romania, Italy Italy Germany, Poland and the United and the United Kingdom), and more than Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern half of the industrial ones are oriented to Ireland. The main products exported to a single market - Romania. A priority for the European market are: machinery and the Republic of Moldova is to succeed in equipment, textile products, agricultural obtaining the acceptance for the export of products, beverages, iron and steel. animal products to the EU, currently from this category Republic of Moldova exports DCFTA has a positive impact on increas- to the EU market only honey and caviar. ing the quality of Moldovan products. Moldovan producers wishing to export Low technological level. The concen- to the EU market without customs duties tration of exports can be explained by must implement the Community stan- the limited technological capabilities of dards. The application of standards con- our country. Moldova lacks quality in- tributes to the increase of competitiveness frastructure, which does not allow the and diversification of Moldovan products export of a larger number of Moldovan that are exported to EU countries. agri-food products on the Community market. There are Moldovan producers Challenges that meet the quality criteria for export to the EU, but there is no infrastructure Concentration of Moldovan exports. required to test their goods. In particular, Although since the implementation of this refers to goods of animal origin. The DCFTA the volume of Moldovan trade National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA) in the EU has increased, there are some does not have laboratories and testing barriers that do not allow the volume of centers in line with EU requirements. these exports to be higher. A first problematic issue is the reduced diversity of The low technological level can also be Moldovan products exported to the EU. deduced from the analysis of the catego- Only a few types of goods are exported ries of agri-food and industrial products to the Community market. In particular, exported to the EU, which constitutes we are talking about sunflower seeds, over 90% of the total exports. About 75% Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 15

of agri-food exports are primary products, gime more than 2 million Moldovan cit- with a minimum or zero level of process- izens traveled to the Schengen area, and ing. All industrial exports are processed the total number of state border crossings by simple, or even non-mechanical (so- in the European area during this period called low tech) technologies. The reduced was over 6 million. technological capacities of the Republic of Moldova can also be deduced from the fact Mobility Partnership. Moldova signed that primary products such as sunflower, on June 5, 2008 the Joint Declaration on wheat, fruits are exported, but there are no the Mobility Partnership Republic of exports with a higher level of processing Moldova - EU, being one of the first pilot such as sunflower oil, bakery products states in this program. The Mobility Part- and pastry, fruit juices. Another indicator nership is an instrument based on polit- is the fact that over half of the industrial ical dialogue, designed for an indefinite products exported do not have the origin period, through which the EU offers a of the Republic of Moldova, they are in- flexible and balanced framework for car- cluded in the category of re-exports. The rying out actions on 3 dimensions of the low level of competitiveness of industrial Global Migration Approach: 1) migration products explains the fact that more than and development; 2) legal migration; 3) half of Moldovan industrial exports to the combating illegal migration. The purpose EU are directed to only one country - Ro- of this program is to facilitate the reinte- mania (52% in 2018). gration of Moldovan migrants returning, voluntarily or forcibly, from the EU into Mobility and people to people the internal labor market and to encour- contact age those wishing to migrate to the EU to use legal means. After 10 years of en- The liberalized visa regime. Delivering forcement, Moldova implemented over tangible results for Moldovan citizens is 100 projects through the Mobility Part- one of the EU’s priorities in relation to nership program. Moldova. The consolidation of human capital is fundamental for the future de- Education, research and culture. Mol- velopment of the relationship between dova’s citizens have the opportunity to the EU and Moldova. The component of participate in various European programs the liberalized visa regime is important in the fields of education, research and for the Moldovan - Community dialogue. culture. The Erasmus + program brings Since April 28, 2014, citizens of the Re- together seven EU programs in the field public of Moldova, holders of biometric of education, training, youth and sport for passports, have been granted the right the period 2014-2020. The EaP countries to travel without visas in the EU. The Re- are eligible to apply to most of the actions public of Moldova achieved this break- of the Erasmus + program, the Republic of through following the implementation of Moldova being its largest beneficiary. In the conditionalities stipulated in the Visa the years 2015-2019 about 2500 students liberalization action plan. Five years after and teachers benefited from the provi- the entry into force of the visa-free re- sions of the Erasmus + program, and an- 16 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

other 3,000 were involved in different in- Challenges formal educational projects. The Republic of Moldova is the first state within the EaP The well-being of citizens has not im- which, starting July 1, 2014, participates in proved. The EU has provided in the last 10 the EU Horizon 2020 research and inno- years lots of contributions for Moldovan vation program with over 5 million euros citizens. Moldovan citizens have more funding. In the field of culture, Moldova opportunities and benefits compared to joined the EU program “Creative Europe” 2009 due to the EU, but their perception in 2015. Within this program, the Republic of the process of bringing Moldova closer of Moldova fully participates in the cul- to the EU has remained in many respects ture component and in the media compo- the same. The explanation is that the nent at 20% scale. standard of living and personal well-being did not change much after the Repub- Civil society. For effective communica- lic of Moldova signed the AA. In order for tion with citizens, the EU supports civil the impact to be greater, it is necessary to society. Right from the moment of the accelerate the economic development of launch of EaP, the idea of a Civil Society the country which is possible only after Forum (CSF) comprising the EaP coun- the macro - political reforms on justice tries was supported. At the EaP Summit and the fight against corruption will be in Prague in May 2009, the conceptual achieved. document of the CSF was adopted. The purpose of the CSF is to facilitate contacts Citizens are not aware of the benefits. On between civil society organizations in the other hand, many of the benefits that the EaP countries and to intensify the di- Moldovan citizens enjoy are taken for alogue with the public authorities in the granted or they are not aware that these respective countries to contribute to the benefits were possible with EU support. transformation, reformation and mod- Other benefits are indirect and foresee a ernization of the EaP societies. At the medium and long term planning, such as, EaP summit held in Brussels in 2017, the for example, the EU’s support for the en- “20 deliverables for 2020” were adopted, ergy sector and infrastructure, which are which are intended to generate tangible hardly tangible for Moldovan citizens. results for citizens. Through the 20 deliv- To fill this gap in the Moldovan society, erables the EU has set out to develop, in mass media campaigns about the impor- time, a complex mechanism of interaction tance of EU support to Moldovan citizens with the EaP countries through direct are needed. communication with civil society, so that it becomes more effective in communicat- ing with the state institutions, capable of imposing policies on the authorities. Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 17

■■ to consolidate the continuous in- Conclusions and recommen- crease of the commercial volumes dations of the Moldovan exports on the EU market by diversifying the goods Moldova started in 2009 the process of and removing the technical barriers by increasing the technological level political association and economic in- in the production process; tegration with the EU within the insti- ■ tutional policy of the EaP. After 10 of ■ to increase the degree of internal democratization of the Republic of Moldovan - Community dialogue in this Moldova by involving civil society EU project, from which 5 years of AA im- in the decision-making process, en- plementation, the following conclusions suring freedom of expression and could be drawn: plurality of the media. ■■ the political dialogue has undergone evolutions and involutions. For this, the following actions are a priority: The involutions were caused by the ■■ depoliticizing state institutions lack of political will of the Chisinau based on the functioning of laws authorities to carry out reforms that and observance of procedural would lead to the functioning of the rules. Appointment of apolitical or state institutions, in particular, the non-party persons as heads of state reform of the justice and the fight institutions; against corruption; ■ ■ ■ reform of the justice system. Ensur- ■ the Republic of Moldova is in full ing independence, efficiency, trans- process of economic integration to parency and accountability of the the community space through the judiciary and anti-corruption insti- instrument made available namely tutions. The prosecution reform and the DCFTA, which 5 years after its the fight against corruption are the implementation has strongly con- priority measures in the reform of nected Moldova to the EU; the judicial system. The promotion ■■ the liberalized visa regime with the of judges must be based on merits EU and the horizontal programs in and transparent recruitment; various fields offer Moldovan citi- ■■ manifestation of the will in the im- zens numerous perspectives to con- partial investigation of the 2014 nect to the European circuit, but also financial fraud that affected the to bring the experience gained in the banking system. The aim of the in- EU in the Moldovan society. vestigation should focus on bringing those responsible for fraud to For the following years, commitments justice and recovery of the diverted from the Republic of Moldova are re- funds. Securing the legislation to quired in order to increase political prevent money laundering in line association with the EU, but also to in- with the European one will create crease the welfare of citizens: the legal framework needed to avoid such situations in the future; ■■ to demonstrate political will in the process of full-fledged justice re- ■■ development of an efficient and form and intensification of the fight transparent regulatory framework against corruption, as well as the for the business environment, by fulfillment of all commitments in all guaranteeing equal rights for busi- areas taken under the AA; nesses and business people. Im- prove the transparency of the public 18 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

procurement sector by implement- EU and widening the geographical ing the law in force; area of their spread in the communi- ■ ty area by creating mechanisms for ■ the energy connection of the Repub- the development of the processing lic of Moldova to the EU by connect- industry (including primary) and ing to the Romanian gas and elec- increasing the degree of technologi- tricity systems. Liberalization of the cal capacities of the Moldovan econ- energy market in Moldova through omy. Achieving quality standards its demonopolization. Implementa- in line with EU requirements and tion of new energy laws and fulfill- organizing campaigns to promote ment of commitments made by the Moldovan products on European Republic of Moldova within the Eu- markets; ropean Energy Community; ■ ■ ■ increasing the degree of transpar- ■ carrying out the reform of the public ency of the decision-making act by administration in order to improve involving the civil society. Demon- the public services and the manage- opolize the media market and create ment of public finances. Creating conditions for the development of more employment opportunities at media institutions independence. local and regional level with the aim This would contribute to ensuring to increase the citizens’ standard of the pluralism of opinion and to the living; correct and equidistant information ■■ increasing the degree of complete- of Moldovan citizens. ness of the Moldovan exports to the

The bilateral relations between the Republic of Moldova and Romania

Political dialogue Moldova for European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, signed in Bucha- Relaunching political dialogue. In 2009, rest, on April 27, 2010. relations between the Republic of Mol- dova and Romania entered a new stage The document contains 3 dimensions of of evolution. The new government from Moldovan - Romanian cooperation to sup- Chisinau - EIA - has declared the objec- port the European course of the Republic of tive of European integration of the Re- Moldova: political, economic and cultural. public of Moldova as a priority. In the On the political dimension, the two states new political circumstances of the Re- have agreed to establish a structured coop- public of Moldova, the Moldovan - Roma- eration framework to support the accession nian bilateral relations entered a stage of of Moldova to the EU, in practical terms stability and constant dialogue on several supported by a Government Action Plan. levels of cooperation. The evolution of the The Moldovan - Romanian institutional institutional framework of the Moldovan collaboration was deepened using the for- - Romanian bilateral relations in the last mat of joint government meetings, a format decade resulted from the Joint Declara- which allowed partnerships to promoted tion setting up the Strategic Partnership in various fields. In total, 4 joint govern- between Romania and the Republic of ment meetings have been held so far: Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 19

■■ March 3, 2012 - in Iasi; based on the linguistic identity, history and common culture. ■■ September 22, 2015 - in Neptune; ■■ March 23, 2017 - at Piatra Neamț; During this period, the pragmatic side of the Moldovan-Romanian relations ■■ November 22, 2018 - in Bucharest. prevailed being determined by the stra- The dimensions of Moldovan - Roma- tegic objective of the Republic of Moldo- nian cooperation. During these joint va to integrate into the EU. Romania’s meetings of the governments, in addi- approach is to contribute to the Republic tion to expressing gratitude and mutual of Moldova’s irreversible course of Euro- support between the two states, concrete pean integration, but also to ensure an actions were taken by signing bilateral area of stability and security at its eastern agreements in various fields and offer- border. Moldova has naturally and or- ing loans granted to Moldova by Roma- ganically accepted the support given by nia. At the first joint meeting of the two Romania in achieving its strategic objec- Cabinet of Ministers, the Action Plan was tive, greatly benefiting from its relations signed between the Government of Ro- with the neighboring country. mania and the Government of the Repub- lic of Moldova for the implementation of Challenges the Joint Declaration7 and an agreement was reached regarding the unfolding of The divergences caused by the institu- the sessions of the Joint Commission for tions of the presidency. The close and European Integration and the Joint Com- constant dialogue between Chisinau and mission for Economic Cooperation. Be- Bucharest at the level of the governments tween 2012-2018 there were 5 meetings of did not rule out the presence of politi- the Joint Intergovernmental Commission cal problems in the relations between for European Integration, and between Moldova and Romania, caused by other 2010-2018 the Joint Intergovernmental political institutions. The institution of Commission for economic cooperation the presidency, both in Bucharest and met 7 times. in Chisinau, at certain time intervals has caused certain political divergences During the years 2009-2019, the relations between the two countries. These diver- between the Republic of Moldova and Ro- gences can be explained by the personal mania was based on two major aspects: profile, political beliefs and cultural-val- ■■ the European dimension of bilateral ues of certain presidents. In some situa- cooperation, based on the strategic tions, the unionist statements of Traian objective of Moldova’ integration Basescu and those of the position of the into the EU; anti-Romanian Moldovan Igor Dodon ■■ highlighting the special character of created interpersonal animosities in the the Moldovan-Romanian relations, political dialogue between Moldova and 7 Action Plan between the Government of Romania Romania. and the Government of the Republic of Moldova for the implementation of the Joint Declaration on the Establish- ment of a Strategic Partnership between Romania and the Republic of Moldova for the European Integration 27, 2010. / http://www.mae.ro/tratate-bilaterales of the Republic of Moldova, signed in Bucharest, April 20 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

The party nature of Moldovan-Roma- plement the relevant economic policies, nian relations. Another problematic the two countries have agreed to develop aspect of the political relations between the legal framework of bilateral economic the Republic of Moldova and Romania relations. For the institutional consolida- was the fact that, in many situations, they tion of the economic cooperation between were influenced by the inter-party links, the Republic of Moldova and Romania it or even by the relations between the Mol- was decided to extend the activity of the dovan and Romanian politicians. The joint intergovernmental commissions, party line played an important role in the through which the economic projects period 2016-2019, when the Moldovan-Ro- and programs between the two states manian governmental relationship was were coordinated. The joint commission determined by the relationship between for economic cooperation represents the the two ruling parties - the Social Dem- institutionalized mechanism of bilateral ocratic Party in Romania and the Demo- cooperation on the economic level, coor- cratic Party of Moldova. The two govern- dinated by the ministers of economy of ing parties, in several situations, ignored the two countries. the state interests of Romania and the Republic of Moldova and supported each Energy interconnection. The Joint Dec- other, being guided by party interests. laration pays special attention to energy cooperation, in particular energy inter- Economic cooperation connections in the natural gas and electricity sectors. According to the Action Development of the bilateral legal-eco- Plan of the declaration adopted on March nomic framework. According to the Joint 3, 2012, the interconnection natural gas Declaration of April 2010, in order to im- pipeline system project Iași-Ungheni was

Table No. 3 Exports and imports between Republic of Moldova and Romania (2009-2018) Exports Imports Year Million USD % Million USD % 2009 239,6 18,6 311,7 9,5 2010 246, 4 16,0 386,7 10,0 2011 376,4 17,0 574,3 11,1 2012 356,7 16,5 620,6 11,9 2013 411, 1 16,9 722,1 13,1 2014 434,0 18,6 803,1 15,1 2015 446,4 22,7 555,1 13,9 2016 513,0 25,09 551,5 13,72 2017 600,6 24,77 694,5 14,38 2018 792,1 29,27 838,2 14,54 Source: National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova (www.statistica.gov.md) Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 21

planned to be finalized by August 27, times, and imports almost 3 times. Since 2014. The functionality of the Iași-Ungh- 2014, Romania has become the first trad- eni gas pipeline is symbolic. In order to ing partner of the Republic of Moldova. become fully functional at the next stage, it is necessary to extend the gas pipeline Financial assistance. The financial as- to Chisinau on the territory of the Repub- sistance that Romania provided to the lic of Moldova and the construction of Republic of Moldova was also part of the the Onești-Lețcani gas pipeline with the economic cooperation between the two compression station on the territory of countries. On April 27, 2010, in Bucharest, Romania. was signed the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Gov- On May 21, 2015, in Chisinau, the Mem- ernment of the Republic of Moldova on orandum of Understanding was signed the implementation of the technical and between the Government of the Republic financial assistance program based on a of Moldova and the Government of Ro- non-reimbursable financial assistance of mania regarding the implementation of 100 million euros granted by Romania the projects necessary for the intercon- to the Republic of Moldova. The parties nection of the natural gas and electricity agreed that the agreement should develop networks in the Republic of Moldova and cooperation in the transport infrastruc- Romania. 8 The Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau ture and educational units, subsequently gas pipeline is a strategic project for the supplemented with humanitarian assis- Republic of Moldova. In order to achieve tance in emergency situations and with this, the Romanian state was involved the energy sector. As for development through the SNTGN Transgaz SA com- cooperation policy, Moldova represents pany, the main shareholder of which is priority no.1 receiving most of the devel- the Ministry of Economy of Romania. opment assistance provided by Romania The company took over the construction through the International Development of the gas pipeline to Chisinau. The com- Cooperation Agency (RoAid). pletion of the Iași-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline construction is planned for 2020. Romania supported Moldova when it had problems with the financial assistance Commercial relations. The economic in- from abroad. In 2015, when the Interna- tegration of the Republic of Moldova into tional Monetary Fund, the World Bank the Community market has contributed and the European Commission stopped to the deepening of the Moldovan-Ro- the macro-financial assistance granted manian trade-economic relations. Since to the Republic of Moldova, at the second 2009, the volume of trade between the joint meeting of the governments, the two two states has been steadily increasing. countries agreed upon the conditions of a During this period, Moldovan exports repayable financial assistance Agreement to Romania increased approximately 3.5 worth 150 million euros granted by Ro- 8 Order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mania to the Republic of Moldova. and European Integration no.1298-T-12 of 05.11.2015 regarding the entry into force and the ceasing of some international treaties. / http://lex.justice.md/md/361877/ 22 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

■■ construction of road bridges over Challenges the river Prut near the localities of Iași-Ungheni and Bumbăta-Leova; Lack of major economic projects. Moldo- ■■ implementation of international va and Romania have agreed to work to- roaming at national rates between wards interconnection of infrastructures Moldova and Romania; and their integration within the transport and telecommunications networks in the Among these projects the topic of roam- European space, taking into account the ing was largely discussed but not final- commitments with the European Union. ized due to the Republic of Moldova’s In a longer term, the parties agreed to im- back end rates which are approximately plement the following bilateral projects: 20 times higher than in Romania. The ■■ completion of the electricity inter- electricity interconnection between Re- connection project by launching the public of Moldova and Romania is only Isaccea-Vulcănești and Suceava-Bălți at the project phase of the Isaccea-Vul- power lines; cănești power line. All the other strategic ■■ the construction of the European projects of the Moldovan-Romanian rela- railway track 1435 MM from Unghe- tions, against the optimistic promises, the ni station to Chisinau station; authorities of the two states did not take

Table No. 4 The disbursed amounts out of the 100 million euros non-reimbursable financial assistance granted to the Republic of Moldova (2014-2018)

Date Project name Sum euro

20.02.2014 The interconnection pipeline between the Romanian national gas 1 205 634,90 transmission system and the Republic of Moldova’s gas transmission system on the Iasi-Ungheni direction

16.04.2014 Education units 19 922 505,57

08.08.2014 The interconnection pipeline between the Romanian national gas 1 270 734,44 transmission system and the Republic of Moldova’s gas transmission system on the Iasi-Ungheni direction

19.12.2014 The interconnection pipeline between the Romanian national gas 2 738 462,50 transmission system and the Republic of Moldova’s gas transmission system on the Iasi-Ungheni direction

07.11.2016 Preschool institutions in the Republic of Moldova (kindergarten 3 000 000,00 renovation program)

17.11.2016 The technical project necessary for the construction of the Ungh- 550 000,00 eni-Chisinau gas pipeline

23.12.2016 Automation and Management Center (dispatching) from Unghe- 350 000,00 ni within the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline

21.12.2018 School infrastructure in the Republic of Moldova 3 000 000,00

Total 32 037 337,41

Source: Request nr.2087B/04-12-2018 (www.cdep.ro/pls/parlam/interpelari.home) Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 23

concrete actions. The implementation of technical and financial assistance, agreed these projects is very important for the on April 27, 2010, Romania has made a economic connection of the Republic of major contribution to the renovation and Moldova to Romania, and through the modernization of the preschool institu- neighboring state to the European eco- tions in the Republic of Moldova. Until nomic circuit as well. December 31, 2018, the amount redeemed from the first tranche of the grant offered Inability to use the non-repayable by Romania was 19.1 million euros and loan. The Government of the Republic of 2.9 million euros from the second tranche. Moldova managed to make use of only The beneficiaries of the grant offered by 32 million euros from the program of Romanian were 836 kindergartens from non-reimbursable financial assistance, in the Republic of Moldova. For school insti- the amount of 100 million euros, granted tutions, Romania has donated, on several by Romania. The money is granted only occasions, school minibuses for second- on concrete development projects, the ary schools and high schools throughout Moldovan authorities being unable to ab- the Republic of Moldova. sorb all this money. So far, out of the 100 million euros grated by Romania only 32 Cultural cooperation. In 2010, the Roma- million euros were disbursed. nian Cultural Institute opened a branch in Chisinau - the Romanian Cultural In- Cultural relation stitute “Mihai Eminescu”. The activity of this institute, the opening of which The institutional framework. The coop- was not possible until 2009, focuses on eration in the cultural-educational field encouraging and supporting the Roma- is a very important one for the two coun- nian cultural events in the Republic of tries, Romania offering large assistance Moldova. It carries out projects in all the to the Republic of Moldova in this field. important sectors of the culture: theater, In the 2010 Joint Declaration, the enlarge- film, visual arts, socio-human sciences, ment of Moldovan-Romanian relations in music, folk art and ethnography, litera- the field of culture, science and education ture etc. The cultural relations between is planned based on European standards. the two countries are also developed at The basis of cooperation between the inter-ministerial level between the line two countries in these areas is a bilateral ministries. agreement signed in 1992. 9 Challenges Cooperation in education. Traditionally, Romania annually allocates to the Repub- Information insufficiency.The relations in lic of Moldova scholarships (about 5 thou- the field of culture between the two coun- sand) in pre-university, university and tries have undergone an institutional devel- post-university educational levels. Start- opment after 2009. Speaking about public ing with 2014, through the 100 million Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Govern- euros non-reimbursable aid program of ment of Romania on collaboration in the fields of science, education and culture. / http://lex.justice.md/index. 9 Agreement no.1992 of 19.05.1992 between the php?action=view&view=doc&lang=1&id=357614 24 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

presence, many of the Romanian projects Conclusions and recommen- and programs implemented in the Repub- dations lic of Moldova have not been reported in the public space to their true value. In the Joint Since 2009, the Moldovan-Romanian di- Declaration of April 2010, the media sector alogue has been constant and constantly cooperation between the two states was to developing. The Moldovan-Romanian be expanded. The Romanian – Republic of relations between the two states became Moldova joint information space is one of special, during the years 2009-2019 they the priorities of the Ministry of Romanians were characterized by the following: everywhere. In 2016, the initiative of setting ■■ the Moldovan-Romanian political dia- up the Mass-Media Advisory Council was logue was an effective one at the level launched. This initiative, which has not yet of governments, based on economic been fully implemented, will constitute the pragmatism, the ideological-political institutional framework for capitalizing on divergences passing on the secondary level; the opportunities offered by bilateral cooperation in the media field by transposing ■■ the economic and trade cooperation European norms and applying common gradually became a fundamental one standards of good practice. for the Moldovan-Romanian bilateral relations, changing the accents of the institutional dialogue between the two The Romanian media projects in the Re- countries. Romania became Republic of public of Moldova. One of the most dis- Moldova’s first trade partner. The stra- cussed topics was that of the Romanian tegic project of energy interconnection public television (TVR) broadcasting license of the Republic of Moldova to the Euro- in the Republic of Moldova, which was dis- pean energy system through Romania started; continued by the Moldovan authorities in 2007. Following the dialogue with the Mol- ■■ the cultural-historical component of the dovan authorities, on December 1, 2013, the Moldovan-Romanian relations contin- Romanian Television Company launched ued to play an important role, their spe- TVR grid for Moldova. Previously, on De- cial nature being determined by many programs and projects that Romania has cember 1, 2011, the Romanian Broadcasting in the Republic of Moldova. Society began broadcasting in the Republic of Moldova using the local Radio Chisinau In order to consolidate the Moldo- station. The Romanian state has financially van-Romanian dialogue further it is supported various local media sources in recommended: the Republic of Moldova. Ideally, these me- ■■ at political level, deepening the in- dia sources should contribute to maintain- tergovernmental dialogue based on ing and promoting the Romanian cultural economic cooperation and cultur- and linguistic identity on the left bank of al-historical projects through a bet- the Prut River. In practical terms, the credi- ter institutionalization of it in order to avoid certain political divergences bility of many of these Romanian language caused by the party and personal fac- media outlets have been suffering in terms tors; of credibility and independence, and they are politically partisan. Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 25

■■ at economic level, the development of ■■ connecting the Republic of Moldova economic projects of great magnitude. to the major European routes through Fulfilment of the strategic project on Romania. The construction of the Cluj- energy interconnection between the Târgu-Mureș-Iași highway with the Republic of Moldova and Romania, as Ungheni-Chisinau extension is a stra- well as of other strategic railway and tegic one for the Republic of Moldova. road projects that will contribute to the The construction of the Iași-Ungheni economic connection of the Republic of road bridge is part of this highway. An- Moldova to the EU through Romania; other route that would connect Moldova to European arteries would be DN24A ■■ at the cultural-historical level, it is nec- Bîrlad-Huși, the connection being made essary to increase Romania’s informa- through the construction of the Bumbă- tional space throughout the Republic of ta-Leova road bridge. The Huși-Leova Moldova for reasons of existing affinities route would contribute to the formation between the two countries, but also for a of the regional transport corridor Leo- better awareness about Romania’s sup- va-Cimișlia-Basarabeasca-Căușeni-Ste- port and contribution to the increase of fan Voda-Odessa (Ukraine); the Republic of Moldova welfare state. ■■ creation of favorable conditions for the In order to achieve these recommenda- expansion of the Romanian business en- tions, the following concrete actions vironment in the Republic of Moldova must be taken: by harmonizing the investment environment of the two countries. The consoli- ■ ■ completion and commissioning of the dation of the Romanian business envi- Iași-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline; ronment in the Republic of Moldova is a natural necessity in order to increase the ■ ■ the launch of the Isaccea-Vulcănești trade balance between the two countries; power lines, as a first stage, and of the Suceava-Balti power line, as a second ■■ the broadcasting of TVR Moldova on air stage. In a longer term, the construction via national waves and the broadcasting of the Iași-Strășeni power line; of Radio Chisinau throughout the territory of the Republic of Moldova. Open- ■ ■ construction of the railway line with ing of new television and radio stations, European gauge from Ungheni to Chisi- periodicals and Romanian news portals nau; in the Republic of Moldova. Entrance to the media market in Moldova of Roma- ■ ■ construction of road bridges over the nian media trusts; River Prut near Iași-Ungheni and Bum- băta-Leova. Initiation of new projects, ■■ implementation of international roam- in addition to the two already discussed ing at national rates between Moldova regarding construction of bridges over and Romania. the River Prut. A future road bridge over the River Prut in the localities Făl- ciu-Cantemir would facilitate the trade between two countries which in the last years growths continuously; 26 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

The Moldovan-Ukrainian relations in the context of euro integration policy dynamics Natalia Stercul The dynamics of bilateral political dialogue PhD, expert and Program Director, Eastern Studies Department: Ukraine and Russia, Moldovan-Ukrainian relations, despite Foreign Policy Association of Moldova the presence of certain difficulties in the bilateral dialogue, are characterized by EU enlargement to the East led to an instability, friendliness and goodwill. Their crease in political and ideological discus- evolution is due to the deep historical ties sions around the fate of the post-Soviet that unite Moldova and Ukraine. Over states. The new European neighbors, the the period of bilateral cooperation, more Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, were at than 150 documents have been signed a crossroads between adopting a Western that regulate good neighborly relations. course of development and preserving tra- In 2019, the two countries celebrated the ditional Russian influence. The issue of the 27th anniversary of the establishment of fundamental guidelines of their foreign pol- diplomatic ties. icy was aggravated by geopolitical contra- dictions around the future of these states at Ukraine has always supported the ter- the level of EU-Russia relations. The dilem- ritorial integrity and sovereignty of the ma of choice has shaped, to some extent, the Republic of Moldova, acted as a guaran- path to the beginning of internal socio-polit- tor and mediator in the process of set- ical transformations in these countries. tlement of the Transnistrian conflict. At the same time, changes of political elites The Prague Summit, held on May 7th, and spirits over the past decade, as well 2009, marked the beginning of the East- as internal political instability, a low lev- ern Partnership project, the goal of which el of development of democracy, oligar- was to create the necessary conditions for chic regimes, a virtual absence of polit- accelerating political association and eco- ical dialogue between the Presidents of nomic integration between the European the states, inconsistent actions of power Union and partner countries. This initia- structures on both sides, and continued tive marked the beginning of the process political distrust complicated the bilater- of modernization of states and the imple- al relationship. mentation of systemic reforms. By signing the Association Agreement with the EU, The complexity of the political relations which includes the creation of a deep and between the two neighboring states was comprehensive free trade zone (DCFTA), due to various reasons and factors, in- the states managed to become associate cluding internal political crises, however, members of the EU and receive a visa-free the complete lack of dialogue between regime. All this left its mark on the Moldo- the President of the Republic of Moldo- van-Ukrainian relations, united by a com- va Igor Dodon and former President of mon European integration policy. Ukraine Petro Poroshenko was caused Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 27

by the statements of I. Dodon regarding regional security and reaction to new the Crimean affiliation. As a result, the challenges and threats contributed to the political dialogue between the Presidents unity of the positions of the states on a was at the lowest point in the history of whole range of issues, including with re- Moldovan-Ukrainian relations. At the spect to the Transnistrian region. On Oc- same time, the regular contacts of the tober 7th, 2017, an Agreement on joint bor- Prime Minister of the Republic of Mol- der control on the Moldovan-Ukrainian dova with the authorities of Ukraine al- border was signed.10 lowed achieving pragmatic cooperation in many areas. The symmetrical actions of Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities became a de- This is connected often with the personal fining characteristic for the creation of friendly relations of P. Poroshenko and joint control points. A special role in this Vladimir Plahotniuc, the leader of the process belongs to the EUBAM mission, Democratic Party of Moldova, and their supported by the European Commission, joint business interests, which lay at the whose activities are focused on improv- basis of close cooperation between the ing the protection level of the Transnis- parties. The positive cycle of bilateral re- trian segment of the border. The achieved lations between the states was continued results were expressed in reducing the by the new Prime Minister of the Repub- level of smuggling by increasing the ef- lic of Moldova Maia Sandu, who, a month ficiency of customs control, developing after her appointment, payed her first offi- appropriate standards for cross-border cial visit to Kiev on July 17th, 2019, where assistance and improving the profession- she met the newly elected President of al skills of the border services of Moldova Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. They dis- and Ukraine.11 cussed issues related to regional security and European integration, as well as the The involvement of the European factor bilateral agenda for subsequent joint co- in the political dialogue between 2009 operation. The meeting between I. Dodon and 2019 is the main distinguishing fea- and V. Zelensky has not yet taken place, ture of relations between Moldova and despite the agreement reached during Ukraine, which influenced the intensifi- their joint telephone conversation, as it cation of contacts at the highest level, the was criticized by experts and civil soci- demonstration of regional solidarity and ety in Ukraine. the beginning of building relations in the spirit of pragmatism. At the same time, The key date for the two states to recog- the lack of certainty and clarity in the nize the new realities for regional devel- 10 Agreement between the Government of opment was 2014. The aggravation of re- the Republic of Moldova and the Cabinet of Ministers lations between Ukraine and the Russian of Ukraine on joint control of persons, vehicles, goods Federation as a result of the annexation of and objects at joint border crossing points of the state Moldovan-Ukrainian border // http://lex.justice.md/index. Crimea and the war in the east of Ukraine php?action=view&view=doc&lang=1&id=372414 pushed both states towards a more active 11 European Union Border Assistance Mission. Annual Report 2016 // http://eubam.org/publications/eu- rapprochement with the West. Issues of bam-annual-report-2016/ 28 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

foreign policy of the Republic of Moldo- tries is growing rapidly. At the same time, va, the differentiation of positions on the the authorities have repeatedly noted that geopolitical principle and the desire to there are real opportunities that have not be simultaneously involved in opposing been fully capitalized to increase mutual geo-economic projects have caused con- trade between Moldova and Ukraine. cern of the Ukrainian side and continue to have a destructive effect on the general It was planned to reach 1 billion USD, tak- context of bilateral political relations. ing into account profits from the energy market, but this could not be achieved. Trade, economic and energy In order to enhance cooperation in this cooperation area, it seems important to increase the activity of the Intergovernmental Moldo- Ukraine has the role of the main trading van-Ukrainian joint commission on trade partner of the Republic of Moldova and and economic cooperation. In addition, ranks third after Romania and Russia. In such areas of cooperation as processing of 2018, Moldova entered the TOP-30 trading agricultural products, production of ag- partners of Ukraine and the TOP-20 prom- ricultural machinery, implementation of ising markets, which are determined by energy-saving technologies for processing the State Export Strategy of Ukraine for and storage of agricultural products re- the period until 2021. main promising and undeveloped by the two sides. The dynamics of the trade balance for the period 2009-2018 varied, but was general- The energy issue is one of the priorities ly positive. The decrease in indicators is in bilateral cooperation. The energy fac- largely due to the energizing of economic tor has repeatedly caused many prob- cooperation with the EU by the two states. lems. The most striking examples are The share of their foreign trade in EU coun- the gas conflict between Ukraine and

Table 1: Dynamics of bilateral trade between Republic of Moldova and Ukraine 2009-20181

Year Exports Imports thousands USD thousands USD 2009 81 302,60 458 758,80 2010 91 586,90 528 520,30 2011 152 997,90 641 161,60 2012 122 408,40 594 284,40 2013 140 385,70 659 136,80 2014 109 226,80 546 370,00 2015 45 839,30 371 127,90 2016 49 706,45 383 892,41 2017 65 524,03 511 096,14 2018 80 275,94 577 085,77

1 Foreign trade. National Statistics Bureau // http://www.statistica.md/category.php?l=ro&idc=336 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 29

Russia in 2008-2009, which affected the are quite vast. A set of EU directives in EU countries, as well as a new round of the field of gas and electricity supplies this conflict after 2014, associated with an are mainly aimed at ensuring the secu- increase in gas price for Ukraine, which rity of energy supplies. Moldova and was actually equal to the basic Europe- Ukraine signed in 2018 a Memorandum an cost. As a result, Ukraine refused to to synchronize the operation of their en- import gas from Russia and began to in- ergy systems with the European Network crease its production from its own fields. of Transmission System Operators (ENT- An ambitious task was set until 2035 - not SO-E).13 As soon as the need to integrate only to increase gas production for own the energy systems of the two states with needs, but also to start exporting it.12 the pan-European network is becoming However, Russian gas, so far, passes in increasingly tangible, it is important to transit through the Ukrainian gas trans- accelerate the process of reforming the portation system to the EU countries, and electricity market and modernizing in- it is imported from there by reverse to frastructure. This will reduce the depen- Ukraine through Slovakia, Poland and dence on the Russian Federation in the Hungary. A search is underway for ways energy sector. to increase own gas production. Significant help for the economy and in- Moldova’s energy dependence is ex- frastructure were the achievements of tremely high, which makes the econo- recent years associated with the devel- my extremely vulnerable to any external opment of a number of agreements on disruption in energy supply and fluctua- international transport and air traffic. tions in carrier prices. High dependence Thus, in 2018, a Protocol was signed on on imported gas and electricity, histor- amending the Agreement between the ical debts, outdated systems generating Government of the Republic of Moldova electric and thermal energy are the main and the Government of Ukraine of March catalysts for Moldova’s energy issue. 20th, 1993, on international road traffic. Ukraine has been a reliable partner and Due to the fact that the volumes of export supplier of electricity for more than twen- and import of goods between the states ty years, however, the problem of gas are increasing, these changes are seen as transit through Ukraine in the context extremely important, since they allow for of deteriorating Ukrainian-Russian rela- the international transportation of goods tions is one of the key problems for the in a liberalized mode. Government of Moldova, which requires the search for an optimal solution. The signed Agreement on air traffic between the sides will regulate passenger Taking into account the fact that Moldo- and freight services between the two va and Ukraine are full members of the countries by air.14 At the same time, it EU Energy Community, the prospects for 13 Ukraine and Moldova will jointly coordinate the integration of energy systems with the EU // https:// mutual cooperation in the energy sector elektrovesti.net/60333_ukraina-i-moldova-budut-sovmest- 12 How to keep warm without Russia: is there no-koordinirovat-integratsiyu-energosistem-s-es enough gas in Western Ukraine // https://www. bbc.com/ukrainian/features-russian-47209883 14 Moldova and Ukraine are liberalizing the air and 30 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

should be noted that at the moment the Prut”, “Lower Danube” in order to har- Ukrainian airline UIA and the Moldovan monize the development of border areas. airline Air Moldova are monopolists on the air transportation market, the cost Environmental issues continue to remain of which is economically unreasonably relevant. Ukraine has been negotiating high, which requires the development of with the Moldovan side for ten years the measures to protect the national interests signing of the Agreement on the func- of states in the aviation industry. tioning of the Dniester hydropower plant. However, Moldovan environmentalists The most important and sensitive issues consider this agreement to be extremely which have an old history remain unre- risky and detrimental to the Nistru river solved. These are the completion of the ecosystem. The Government of Ukraine process of demarcation of borders, the approved in 2016 the Hydropower De- recognition of property rights and the velopment Program until 2026,16 which settlement of the operating conditions of envisages the construction of six new the Nistru River hydro-hub, which are hydropower plants in the upper Nistru included in the so-called “package agree- River, in its plain part. This can lead to an ments”, the principle of which is as fol- environmental disaster, a shallowing of lows: “nothing is agreed until everything the Nistru River and an acute shortage of is agreed”, i.e. provide for the simulta- drinking water resources in both states. neous signing and exchange of relevant Nistru River is the main source of drink- documents. ing water in the Republic of Moldova. Cities like Chisinau, Balti, Rezina, Soroca, Considering the Moldovan-Ukrainian Criuleni, Orhei use its drinking resources relations in the context of European inte- on a daily basis. gration policy, it seems important to note the Eastern Partnership Territorial Coop- The Republic of Moldova developed in eration Support Program,15 by which the 2017 draft technical rules for the op- EU supports cross-border cooperation be- eration of the Nistru River hydro-hub, tween Moldova and Ukraine. This helps which are very slowly passing the ap- to intensify the economic interaction of proval stage. It seems important to es- the cross-border territories, has a benefi- tablish a mechanism for coordinating cial effect on combining the capabilities the work of the relevant institutions in and resource potential of the two neigh- the field of hydropower and to develop boring states, and also helps to attract Moldovan-Ukrainian negotiations in the more entrepreneurs, public organizations context of preventing an environmental and the implementation of infrastructure and humanitarian disaster. It is import- and logistics projects. Activities of par- ant for the both sides to comply with the ticular importance would be strengthen- Agreement on Cooperation in the Field ing of the Euroregions “Nistru”, “Upper of Protection and Sustainable Develop- road transport // https://gov.md/ru/content/moldo- 16 The hydropower development program for the va-i-ukraina-liberalizuyut-vozdushnyy-i-avtotransport period of time until 2026. The Cabinet of Ministers of 15 Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation (EaPTC) Ukraine of July 13th, 2016, No. 552-p Kiev // https:// // http://eaptc.eu/ru/eaptc-program.html zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/552-2016-%D1%80#n7 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 31

ment of the Nistru River Basin and make In order to strengthen Moldovan-Ukrainian full use of the developed international relations and expand the forms and direc- mechanisms for its protection, as well tions of bilateral cooperation, it seems im- as prevent stagnation in the process of portant: developing agreements regarding envi- ■■ Given the changes that have occurred ronmental issues. in these states and the rising to power of new power structures, it is important Conclusions and recommen- to establish and strengthen political dia- dations logue between the sides at all levels. ■■ It is important for the sides to maintain Therefore, the dilemma of geopolitical symmetrical actions and solidarity in choice has become the starting point maintaining regional and international of the European integration policy of security. the two states, which has progressive- ■■ We should continue to develop cooper- ly developed over time and has become ation in trade, economic and cultural firmly entrenched in these states’ com- fields, mastering new directions and op- mitment to the European foreign poli- portunities for bilateral cooperation. cy. The focus on the completion of the ■ initiated reforms in accordance with ■ It seems important to expand joint dialogue forums and introduce new formats European standards will increase the of interaction, more actively involving welfare of these states, improve the civil society of the two states to partic- quality of life of ordinary citizens and ipate in them. implement joint Moldovan-Ukrainian ■ projects, brought together by common ■ It is necessary to use the European experience to modernize the countries European aspirations. and ensure a prosperous future for citizens by joining efforts and implement- Bilateral friendly and good-neighborly ing promising new joint projects in the relations between the Republic of Mol- field of developing economic potential, dova and Ukraine are united not only by transport strategies, infrastructure and communications. This will enhance the deep historical roots, the unity of Euro- economic development of the states, pean commitment, but also by the pres- increase their exports to international ence of broad prospects for deepening markets, including the EU markets, will mutually beneficial cooperation in the facilitate their integration into European context of European integration policy. transport corridors, provide the existing business needs for high-quality trans- The involvement of the European fac- port services, and also increase labor tor in the political dialogue of the states mobility, revitalize the industrial and has largely combined their efforts in re- business activity. solving the Transnistrian conflict and ■ reintegrating the country, maintaining ■ We should also intensively develop joint initiatives towards European inte- regional security, cross-border coopera- gration in the field of energy, technical tion within the framework of EUBAM, regulation, development of the digital as well as combating corruption and economy and other areas. Expanding smuggling. cooperation in the field of science, edu- 32 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

cation and culture is seen as relevant. expansion of joint scientific and techni- In particular, the revitalization of the cal projects for conducting joint research Moldovan-Ukrainian commission on in the framework of the European frame- scientific and technical cooperation, the work programs. Republic of Moldova: from stagnation and regress to search for the optimal format of cooperation with the Russian Federation and the CIS

Natalia Stercul and building relations on the principle - the integration into the EU, cooperation PhD, expert and Program Director, Eastern with the Russian Federation and the CIS. Studies Department: Ukraine and Russia, Foreign Policy Association of Moldova Peculiarities of the Moldovan- Russian political dialogue Moldovan-Russian relations have always been viewed through the prism of stra- The interest of the two sides in develop- tegic partnership, despite the actually ing relations in the spirit of constructive permanent nature of stagnation and re- cooperation based on mutual benefit, ex- gression of bilateral dialogue, which can pressed by the new political elite, who be clearly seen in historical retrospective. came to power in the Republic of Mol- This was expressed in the repeated use of dova in 2009, predetermined an attempt diplomatic and economic tools to counter to build a real balance of their pragmatic each other’s policies, distrust of political interests. However, the ratification by the elites and tension. The combination of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova of elements of “soft” and “hard” power as the Association Agreement with the EU integral components of Russia’s policy in on July 2nd, 2014, led to deterioration in relation to Moldova continues to exert its Moldovan-Russian relations. Russia im- influence, its essential and instrumental mediately stepped up its arsenal of po- aspects are not amenable to the counter- litical, economic and information tools acting political technologies used by the aimed at the most sensitive areas in rela- Moldovan side. tionship between the two states. On the same day, 7 memoranda of inter-agency With the installed of the new Government cooperation were signed between Rus- in 2019, the Republic of Moldova is trying sia and unrecognized Transnistria17. The to build a new effective format for bilat- drawdown of political dialogue predeter- eral cooperation, taking into account the mined the tension in bilateral interaction. European foreign policy vector of state development. The main distinguishing Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of For- feature of this attempt is avoiding a dual eign Affairs and European Integration policy in the actions of the President and Andrei Galbur paid a visit to Moscow in the Government of the Republic of Mol- 17 Russia and Transnistria signed 7 memoranda to develop “Rogozin-Shevchuk” protocol // dova regarding the Russian Federation https://regnum.ru/news/1821225.html Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 33

April 2016. A breakthrough was expected policy pursued by the Russian Federa- in relations between Moldova and Russia. tion in the region, traditionally located The two sides discussed the possibilities in the zone of its strategic interests and of strengthening the Moldovan-Russian influence. However, on this background, cooperation. This was a manifestation of there were regular visits of the President the desire on the part of the Moldovan au- of the Republic of Moldova to Moscow, thorities to resume bilateral cooperation, meetings of Igor Dodon with Vladimir and on the Russian side - their readiness Putin, with members of the State Duma for review and rapprochement of the po- of the Federal Assembly of the Russian sitions on key issues of bilateral relations. Federation, politicians, statesmen, rep- The attempt to start building a new plat- resentatives of large entrepreneurships, form of cooperation between the states business environment and the clergy of had failed. the Russian Orthodox Church. The intensity of these contacts has reached an There was quite a long pause in the politi- unprecedented level. Such a frequency of cal dialogue between the heads of state of visits of the President of Moldova to Mos- the Republic of Moldova and the Russian cow seems at least strange and cannot but Federation, due to the peculiarities of the alarm, since this fact indicates an intensi- internal political development of the Re- fication of the Kremlin’s influence. In -ad public of Moldova. However, on January dition, such active actions undertaken by 17, 2017, after a nine-year hiatus, relations the President to establish a dialogue with between the presidents were resumed. Russia were repeatedly criticized by the The emerging positive dynamics in the Government and the Parliament of the political dialogue of the two states was Republic of Moldova. overshadowed by the persona non grata announcement of the Russian Deputy The new Government, headed by Maia Prime Minister Dmitrii Rogozin and the Sandu, which came to power in 2019, expulsion of Russian diplomats, initiated managed to lay the foundations for by the pro-European Government of Mol- promoting an honest and open Moldo- dova on the basis of information received van-Russian dialogue and move away from the Moldovan secret services. Rus- from the internal confrontational poli- sia retaliated and announced the expul- cies of the Government and the President sion of five Moldovan diplomats. This with regard to Russia, while maintaining was a precedent for the deterioration of a firm European foreign policy. relations and a demonstration of mutual misunderstanding and political distrust. The Russian Federation continues to remain an important partner for the Repub- In 2018, attempts to strengthen the Moldo- lic of Moldova. Building a new format of van-Russian dialogue were accompanied relations between states seems possible by the complexity of the internal politi- if the Moldovan side pursues a clearly cal situation in the Republic of Moldova, formulated policy and open dialogue, the contradictory statements and actions where the national interests of the Mol- of the authorities, as well as the foreign dovan state will be taken into account. 34 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

This refers to the principle of neutrality, was not limited to diplomatic methods; the withdrawal of Russian troops from economic instruments were also widely the Transnistrian region, the disposal used, which led to a halving of trade be- of ammunition stored in warehouses in tween the two countries (see Table 1). The Kolbasno, avoiding the use of economic result was a significant loss by Moldova pressure instruments and other methods of its position in the Russian market. The widely used by the Russian side to main- aggravation of relations between Russia tain its influence in the region. and the European Union exacerbated the situation even more. The tension of political relations between the two states can be overcome by mov- Realizing the complexity of the situation, ing away from controversial discussions the growing dissatisfaction of representa- and finding a common ground in bilat- tives of the business environment, labor eral cooperation. This can be the key to migrants and ordinary citizens in 2016, success and the start of developing an the Moldovan authorities made a number effective platform for dialogue. Building of efforts to develop a “road map” for re- a new partnership format should come storing trade relations between the coun- from the changing modern realities of tries.19 This was not an easy task, since the development of states, the regional Russia repeatedly criticized the Eastern and international context, as well as from Partnership because of its anti-Russian the understanding that Russia is a poten- orientation. In November 2016, the work tially strong partner that will continue to of the Moldovan-Russian interagency influence the region. commission on trade and economic cooperation was resumed. The Russian side Trade and economic cooperation also resumed dialogue with the Repub- lic of Moldova on migration issue. Since The basis for the long-term development of March 1st, 2017, the amnesty was started trade and economic relations between the for labor migrants from Moldova. All this Republic of Moldova and the Russian Fed- showed the progressive convergence of eration was the Program of Economic Co- the positions of the two sides. operation between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Government There was a development of economic of the Russian Federation for the period of ties in 2018, an increase in the level of 2009-2020.18 Between 2009 and 2014 trade trade between countries, an increase in and economic relations are steadily devel- the supply of wine and agricultural prod- oping (see Table 1). A tension of Moldo- ucts, which had previously repeatedly van-Russian relations was outlined from caused tensions between the states. This 2014 to 2017. Russia’s opposition as a result component of bilateral relations contin- of Moldova’s rapprochement with the EU ues to depend on the consistency of polit- 18 The Protocol of the 14th meeting of the Inter- ical decisions of the sides, and to act as an governmental commission for economic cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and the Russian 19 Political economy. The basic problems in relations Federation of 26th November 2016 // http://mec.gov. between Moldova and Russia // http://newsmaker.md/ md/sites/default/files/protokol_rm-rf_29.11.16.pdf rus/novosti/politicheskaya-ekonomika-osnovnye-prob- lemy-v-otnosheniyah-moldovy-i-rossii-26038 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 35

object of manipulation in the process of point of view, its debts to Gazprom are a Moldova’s achieving of its own national matter of international gas policy, which interests, which do not coincide with the Russia is trying to use to put pressure on vision and plans of Russia. the Republic of Moldova. In this context, the sides should continue consultations The possibilities of revising the entire on the comprehensive resolution of prob- agenda of the Moldovan-Russian coop- lematic issues of cooperation in the ener- eration, including trade and economic gy sector in general and the gas sector in cooperation were associated in Russia particular. with the results of the new Parliamenta- ry elections in Moldova in 2019. Such a The new format of cooperation with Rus- backlog was made including with Rus- sia involves the intensification of trade sian efforts. The key figure in this pro- and economic cooperation, expansion of cess, Dmitrii Kozak, is the Special Repre- sales of Moldovan products to the Rus- sentative of the President of the Russian sian market and attraction of investments Federation for the development of trade to the country. For this aim, it is import- and economic relations with Moldova. ant to move away from the politicization As a result of the agreements reached of trade and economic cooperation be- between the sides, the Moldovan-Rus- tween the countries, to build relations on sian intergovernmental commission re- the basis of mutually beneficial econom- sumed its work. Within its framework, ic and trade interests, as well as to solve priority areas of trade cooperation and the existing problems in this area, many the resumption of inter-parliamentary of which were created artificially. The cooperation as an important platform multi-vector format of Moldova’s foreign for bilateral dialogue were considered. policy, built in the new conditions of his- The tendency to reset relations was rein- torical development, consists in continu- forced by the II Moldovan-Russian Eco- ing the policy of European integration nomic Forum, held in Chisinau. with simultaneous cooperation with the Russian Federation and the CIS. The issue of Moldova’s dependence on Russian energy supplies remains a prob- Relations between the Republic lem. Gazprom PJSC continues to cover of Moldova and the CIS the natural gas needs of the Republic of Moldova. The issue of payments to the The CIS is a regional interstate organiza- Russian suppliers was raised repeated- tion recognized by the international com- ly in the period 2009-2019, which is not munity and based on the cooperation of carried out entirely and in violation of independent states, the activity of which the contract terms. The issue of Russia’s is aimed at strengthening the stability pricing policy in this area and the Trans- and sustainable economic development nistrian debt to Gazprom due to its fail- of the participating states. In 2009, the ure to fulfill its obligations to pay for the work began within the CIS on a draft consumed gas remains extremely sen- new document on the Free Trade Zone sitive for Moldova. From the Moldovan with the aim of updating the concept of 36 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

further development of this organization erence to financial difficulties. The Moldo- and a draft strategy for its economic de- van authorities are trying in 2019 to revive velopment for the period of time until cooperation with the CIS, being guided by 2030. The new document was signed on the importance for Moldova of a free trade October 18, 2011 by the governments of zone within this format. the member states, including the Repub- lic of Moldova. Despite the decline in exports of Moldo- van goods to the CIS countries due to In the context of European integration, their reorientation to the EU market, the the issue of Moldova’s membership in the CIS continues to be a significant market CIS has repeatedly become the subject of for the sale of Moldovan products. The political speculation. The signing of the CIS countries represent about 35% of the Moldova`s Association Agreement with foreign trade of the Republic of Moldova the EU did not imply a withdrawal from (see Table 1). The organization contrib- the CIS. However, representatives of the utes to the development of the economy, liberal wing (in March 2014 and in Janu- the free movement of citizens, the access ary 2018) took the initiative twice to de- of Moldovan products to foreign markets nounce the Agreement on the creation of and does not impose any restrictions on the CIS. Despite the fact that the Moldovan the domestic and foreign policy areas. authorities did not support such a radical After President Igor Dodon came to pow- initiative of radical politicians, Moldova’s er, the need for CIS membership for Mol- participation in 2017 in the Inter-Parlia- dova was supported by the importance of mentary Assembly of the CIS was blocked. a free trade regime that provides Moldo- In addition, the Republic of Moldova re- van economic agents with access to the fused to chair the CIS in 2017, making ref- markets of the participating countries.

Table 1: Dynamics of trade turnover between the RM-RF and the RM-CIS 2009-20181

The total export The total import from CIS Exports from RM to Imports to RM from from RM to CIS countries (thousands USD) the RF (thousands the RF(thousands Year countries (thousands USD) USD) USD) 2009 490 415,2 1 141 782,6 286 491,6 374 512,8 2010 624 003,2 1 256 851,6 403 978,4 586 477,3 2011 919 265,0 1 713 415,9 625 509,4 822 961,0 2012 928 119,5 1 623 721,2 655 132,0 816 882,1 2013 923 219, 8 1 672 307,7 631 931,5 788 040,5 2014 735 647,7 1 449 245,9 423 717,5 717 220,6 2015 492 294,6 1018 110,7 240 648,6 535 691,1 2016 414 185,25 1 027 442,11 233 177,4 535 201,08 2017 462 820,45 1 206 051,90 254 534,82 571 704,23 2018 415 922,25 1 449078,77 218 571,10 720 656,63

The change in the domestic political sit- further development of mutual trade, as uation in the country and the coming to well as the development and implemen- power of the new Government, headed by tation of investment projects. Maia Sandu, marked in 2019 a new stage in the reloading of relations between Conclusions and recommen- the RM-CIS. Moldova seeks to increase dations export performance not only to the Rus- sian Federation, which remains the main The Moldovan-Russian dialogue, often trading partner within the CIS, but also seen as a strategic dialogue for the peri- to other member states of this structure. od 2009-2019 reflected virtually the entire palette of tension, revealing the acute Participation in this organization facili- problems of bilateral relations. The key tates regional trade by improving trade sources of difficulties are: relations between states and maintain- ■■ inertia in Russian politics, presupposing ing zero customs duty for more than 10 the preservation of Russia’s traditional thousand groups of goods. In addition, influence on the Republic of Moldova; a mechanism has been provided for the ■ settlement of trade disputes within the ■ the influence of narrow interests, expressed in the promotion by individual WTO. The main distinguishing feature politicians of their own goals, which are of the current system that has developed contrary to the national interests of the in the CIS over 20 years of its existence is Republic of Moldova; the transition from bilateral agreements ■ to multilateral agreements, which has led ■ the problem of mutual perception, re- quiring a reduction in the degree of to a significant reduction in many bilater- public rhetoric, which will not provoke a al procedures. counterproductive reaction of the political elites of these states. At a meeting of the CIS Mixed Commis- sion in 2019, in which the Republic of The new format of cooperation being Moldova took part, the concept of further built between the Republic of Moldova development of the CIS was updated. The and the Russian Federation and the CIS draft CIS economic development strate- opens up opportunities for improving gy for the period of time until 2030 was mutual understanding and resolving ex- reformatted into a draft Declaration on isting contentious issues between the two Strategic Economic Cooperation of the states. CIS Member States,20 which will create an effective partnership mechanism aimed In order to build the optimal format of at improving the development of eco- cooperation between the Republic of nomic relations, both within the CIS and Moldova and the Russian Federation: in cooperation with other organizations. ■■ A pragmatic political dialogue should This will increase the competitiveness of be continued at all levels of state power, the participating states, will ensure the guided by the clarity and precision of the 20 Declaration on Strategic Economic Coop- tasks` wording. eration of the CIS Member States // http:// ration-on-economic-cooperation-cis-ru/ www.newscentralasia.net/2019/10/14/decla- 38 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

■■ It seems necessary to reconsider the problem areas related to the rapproche- In the light of building an optimal format ment of positions on the fundamental for cooperation with the CIS, it seems im- issues of bilateral Moldovan-Russian portant for the Republic of Moldova: cooperation. Care should be taken to ■ build the foundations for an honest and ■ Conducting an effective trade policy open dialogue based on the political with the CIS countries, contributing to trust of the parties, which will lay the its economic development and increase foundations for successful long-term co- in trade. operation. ■■ Assessment of existing regulatory and ■■ It is important to focus on common procedural measures in the field of trade pragmatic economic interests. The new with the CIS countries. format of trade and economic coopera- ■ tion should be built on the basis of the ■ Overcoming the negative trade balance prevailing reality - the European aspi- with the CIS countries, fully realizing rations of the Republic of Moldova and the potential of the market for goods in the mutually beneficial bilateral Moldo- the CIS. van-Russian cooperation. ■■ Avoiding of politicizing the issue of ■■ Concentrate efforts on developing a plan trade and economic cooperation with the of measures to reduce Russia’s influence, CIS countries. in the event of a policy of pressure on its ■ part in the process of establishing a new ■ Establishment of relations with the CIS format of cooperation. countries on the basis of mutually beneficial interests with a view to their stable ■■ Search for compromise solutions taking development, which will contribute to into account the national interests of the the promotion of joint business projects Republic of Moldova. and the creation of a favorable business climate. Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 39

Moldova’s relations with Poland and the Visegrád Group

In 2012, V4 launches its own program for East- Oktawian Milewksi ern Partnership countries (V4EaP). Moldova becomes in this period the third cumulative Expert in Central and East Europe area stud- recipient of V4 development assistance (after ies, RFI’s Romania correspondent in Poland Ukraine and Belarus21), benefiting from bilateral channel projects - the most eloquent The relevance of Poland example being the Polish Agency for De- and the role of the Visegrád velopment (Polish Aid) and Solidarity Fund Group PL in Moldova or the bilateral cooperation program in the field of Official Foreign Aid The countries of Central Europe - best between the Czech Republic and Moldova represented collectively through the 2011-1722, and Slovak Aid whose presence in sub-regional platform of Visegrad 4 Moldova has gradually increased since 2013. (V4) - are among the most active political supporters for Moldova, especially At the same time V4 offers development proj- from the point of view of the association ects also through the multilateral format of policies with the European Union. V4 the International Visegrad Fund (IVF) with becomes relevant for Moldova only after an initial annual budget of 1.46 million Euro, the group consolidates itself as a rela- dedicated to the EP countries. However, as tively formal platform but also individ- we approach the present days, only 13% of ually as EU member states, somewhere the IVF budget is dedicated to the EP coun- towards the beginning of the last de- tries, which reflects a certain fatigue with the cade. At the same time, in the 2009-2014 EP project as a whole from the V4 perspective. period of time, the eastern region of the For example, the Czech Republic intends that EU’s external border raise in the rank of only in 2022, when Prague will hold the Pres- priorities. idency of the Council, the EaP will undergo a deep review (obviously, at the proposal of the The new member states of the V4 coun- Czech Republic) including in the V4 format.23 tries have found an important niche of 21 Balázs Gyimesi, The Visegrad Group’s development assistance to Eastern Partnership countries, 02.10.2016. foreign policies and a new projection for For more details see http://www.nouvelle-europe.eu/ their own development within the EU node/1953. It is very difficult to calculate the exact cumulative amount of annual resources spent by the four governments by specializing in the relationship with together, because not all governments have similar ODA (Official Development Aid) tools, and publicly presented the Eastern Neighborhood. The main ad- data is sometimes missing or not centralized. Also, the vantage of these states in relations with interest of each V4 country are prioritised differently. The most generous countries in V4 according to the amounts Moldova becomes the expertise of the spent from 2009 to date remain the Czech Republic (being the main donor for Moldova in V4 until 2012) and Poland, transformation through Europeaniza- whose assistance has increased since 2012, rising annu- tion (the adoption of the European ac- ally to the cumulative amount (Through V4EaP, formed bilaterally and multilaterally) of about 1.5 million Euro. quis) and the capacity to corroborate the requests (even theoretical) of association 22 Zsuzsanna Végh, Visegrad Development Aid in the Eastern Partnership Region, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich (and potentially integration) of Moldova / Centre for Eastern Studies, Warsaw, February 2014, p.10 in Brussels. 23 Discussion with a high level Czech dip- 40 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

Currently the V4EaP priorities are orient- rable 26 to other donors such as the USA, ed towards civil society and the support Sweden or Romania. By the horizon of of cooperation between local administra- 2009-2010 Poland’s interest in Moldova tions, universities and citizens.24 Projects was rather marginal, except for the offer under the IVF umbrella, however, are far of a loan of 15 million Euros (offered in from crossing the threshold of small and 2007) which, in the end, was not contract- medium-sized projects (occasionaly) with a ed due to the inability to co-finance the strategic projection in scope and impact 25. proposed projects in infrastructure.27 The first visit of a highest rank Polish dig- As we approach 2019, the largest donor in nitary to Moldova is carried out only in V4, including for Moldova, has naturally March 2011, that is two decades after the become Poland, both because of its clearly declaration of independence 28. greater potential than of the other members of the Group, and because of the fact The success of the first years of negotia- that relevant and comprehensive policies tion of the Association Agreement en- vis-à-vis Moldova from Central Europe courages the Polish government to grant mostly originated (2008) in Warsaw (and an ambitious loan of 100 million Euro Stockholm), the other capitals having a (0.1% interest over a 12-year term) for the sometimes substitute and functionally development of Moldova towards the minor role in terms of the V4-Plus for- end of 2013. This is the turning point in mat in which one of the political vectors the Moldovan-Polish relations, a fact ob- was directed to the Eastern Partnership served also by the intensity of the visits states. V4 at that time (2011-2013) became exchanges at the highest level (prime an important source of lobbying in Brus- ministers and foreign ministers), nev- sels for the Eastern Partnership countries, ertheless, in the next years (2015-2017) it including for Moldova, but V4 as a whole becomes obvious that Chisinau is no lon- could never represent more than addi- ger able to rise to the level of Warsaw’s tional political and diplomatic support. expectations.

On this background, for the first time in At that time, the generosity of Poland was the history of bilateral relations, Poland exceeded only by Romania’s grant of sim- becomes an official development aid do- ilar value, which would later be absorbed nor for Moldova with an impact compa- relatively more successfully in Chisinau, 26 Between 2004-2008, when Poland becomes ODA donor (official develepment aid) the official development aid lomat, Warsaw, October 2nd 2019. offered by Poland varied in mln Euros from 0.1 to 0.66. M. 24 An example of types of projects implemented through Kosienkowski, “Poland: Rediscovering Moldova”, p. 147, V4EaP can be consulted here: https://www.msz.gov.pl/reso în Marcin Kosienkowski and William Schreiber, in Moldova urce/6b5b2840-b672-484e-a04a-687a5b4f3c3e:JCR%C2%A0 Arena of International Influence, Lexington Books 2012 25 It is also symptomatic that the 20-25 projects carried 27 M. Kosienkowski, “Poland: Rediscovering Moldova”, p. out annually by the Solidarity Fund PL do not exceed 147, in Marcin Kosienkowski and William Schreiber, Moldova the financial threshold of 10,000 Euro per project. Their Arena of International Influence, Lexington Books 2012 importance at local level cannot be doubted, with Solidarity 28 For a detailed overview of the Polish-Moldovan Fund PL being a crucial support for many local communities, bilateral relations in the first two decades of indepen- but the scale of the projects is far from causing a para- dence of Moldova see Marcin Kosienkowski ”Poland: digm shift from chronic underdevelopment to sustainable Rediscovering Moldova”, pp.143-158, in Marcin Kosien- development close to European standards. For more kowski and William Schreiber, Moldova Arena of details see: http://solidarityfund.md/istorii-de-succes/ International Influence, Lexington Books 2012 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 41

including due to the fact that for Bucha- time, the success of Poland in Moldova rest Moldova remains perhaps the only depended to a great extent on the latter’s coherent foreign policy destination as EU ability to absorb and especially to effec- member state generating relevant policies tively implement the political messages for Moldova, while Poland focused its ef- and concrete trans-regional or bilateral forts on Ukraine, passing Moldova to a policies of Poland. secondary register. Over the 2010-2011 years, Chisinau started the right way this path of European- The Polish foreign policy in ization of the state, becoming in turn the East for a few years, somewhat unexpected, the model student of the EP (2011-2013). The potential of the Eastern Partnership During this period, Poland develops an has been a reflection and consequence increased interest for Moldova. However, of Poland’s consolidation as an EU state, as Moldova was subjected to oligarchic also known as the “champion of Eastern capture, interest in Moldova decreased, Europe”, due to its exceptional develop- so that by the end of 2016 Moldova is no ment over the last three decades. In this longer an important topic in Warsaw. context, a special role has been played This coldness has lasted practically until by Warsaw’s foreign policy identity, for now, or at least until the anti-oligarchic which Eastern Europe - mainly Ukraine change in June 2019, the new chapter of - has been a strategic priority for the last bilateral relations waiting to be written in two decades. the nearest possible future.

Thus, as long as Ukraine was at the top At the same time, Poland’s policy to- of Poland’s Eastern agenda, Moldova wards Moldova has reflected since 2016 could not be absent from the East Euro- the changes in Warsaw’s domestic and pean basket of policies, at the same time, foreign policy, with the rise of the gov- Moldova always had to be aware that it ernments led by the Law and Justice Par- cannot be decoupled from Ukraine in the ty. Visits of Polish dignitaries, but also of relationship with Warsaw, not least be- Moldovan ones, becoming more formalis- cause of the pivotal character of Ukraine tic political exercises of consultation and for the whole Euro-Atlantic security public image. However, until the moment architecture. This reality was felt even of political change in Poland in 2015, in more evidently after the coming to pow- the light of Poland’s eastern policy as a er in Poland of the Law and Justice party, whole, the last decade can be differen- which showed a more passive and selec- tiated by two major directions. The first tive interest in the Eastern space. one, 2010-2015, the policy of dynamic and pragmatic development with the Eastern As Poland continued to be a consistent Partnership states with the aim of Euro- promoter of the Eastern Partnership, peanizing them and transforming them the chances of the Partnership for suc- into viable, consolidated states, capable cess were relatively higher. At the same of resisting the policies of division fed 42 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

by Russia; and, the second one, 2016 - to The Romanian “Nexus” in present, a selective reactive-active policy Poland’s relationship with on the background of Poland’s ambitious Moldova internal development projects and rhetoric following the vague model of illiberal Few people would like to make this as- democracy. pect public, but the relationship of Mol- dova with Poland (at the level of strategic The foreign policy of Poland in the 2016 perception) depends in an unattributed – to present period loses visibly from its way on the dynamics of the strategic open character, often dedicated to in- partnership between Poland and Roma- tensive relations with Eastern Europe. nia. The partnership between the two Poland becomes more self-centered, and NATO and EU states can contribute to or Eastern Europe ranks second on the list discourage the Moldovan-Polish bilateral of priorities. Poland is gradually ceasing dynamics through the strategic prioriti- to be the driving force within the EU vis- zation of Romania by Poland to the detri- à-vis the Eastern Partnership. ment of Moldova.

Therefore, the change of the identity rhet- In other words, if Romania explicitly or oric towards Ukraine (as a by-product implicitly requests a droit de regard with- of the illiberalism promoted by the Law in the EU vis-à-vis Moldova, this request and Justice Party (PLJ) reflected also in is transitional also on Poland, perhaps foreign policy) and the strange occasion- not in multilateral formats (Association al straining of the relationship with Kyiv Council for example), but in bilateral on the identity-historical aspect had a ones. An example of this is represented tangential consequence for the interest by diplomatic consultations between Bu- towards Moldova, which in turn has de charest and Warsaw, during which Bu- facto changed the paradigm of develop- charest requested that any political con- ing bilateral relations, discouraging new sultations with Chisinau be in line with initiatives not only from Poland, but also Bucharest interests or perceptions29. weakening the EU’s focus on Moldova as a whole (where Poland had until re- The most eloquent example in this case is cently been one of those more consistent the Eastern Partnership, which at a cer- promoters of the Eastern Partnership in tain period of its existence was perceived Brussels). The strained relationship of Po- in Bucharest as a project that competed land with Brussels on the rule of law and with Romania’s strategy in the Black Sea justice had the same effect. The soft isola- region (2010-2014) or the assertion of the tion of Warsaw that followed as a result of “next foreign policy strategy of Romania PLJ illiberalism had consequences, thus, after the Euro-Atlantic integration”, that on the normative discourse of Poland on is, in other words, the unification of Ro- the Eastern partners. If Ukraine dropped mania with Moldova and implicitly “the down in the list of Warsaw`s priorities af- burning of the stages” in the European ter 2016, then Moldova was placed broad- 29 A series of discussions with Polish diplomats during the 2013-15 period of time. ly speaking in a second league. Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 43

path of Moldova.30 These perceptions perial metropolis (Moscow, in the case of changed with the rise of Klaus Iohannis, left parties or the presidency under Igor but at the diplomatic level in Warsaw the Dodon). perception was valid: “let’s not irritate Bucharest by showing too much love for Poland understood this mental-identity Chisinau”, that is a realistic and somehow complex of Chisinau and since 2016 has legitimate reflection of strategic priorities made no efforts to extract Moldova from of Poland, but which do not necessarily this gray area, the responsibility turning serve the interest of Moldova. to Romania as much as possible, while there were sufficient suspicions that Ro- The prioritization of Bucharest “at the mania’s agenda on Moldova was also expense of Chisinau” came also on the captured by the oligarchic interests of V. background of the security dynamics in Plahotniuc and the Democratic Party. the region after the annexation of Crimea, the undeclared Russian-Ukrainian war The current state of the rela- and the militarization of the Black Sea. tionship between Moldova The partnership agenda of the two major and Poland Eastern Flank countries is dominated by security and defense issues (at the bilat- Moldovan-Polish relations are still far eral level and based on the NATO Eastern from being capitalized to their full po- flank), but also by new critical infrastruc- tential. Perhaps the best example in this ture development projects such as the regard is the way in which the Polish loan Three Seas Initiative. In this context, any of 100 million Euros was managed at an potential large-scale Polish initiative will interest rate of 0.1% for 12 years, a loan make sure that it does not contradict Ro- granted to Moldova in 2013, of which no mania’s interests in Moldova. penny has been spent so far. The deadlock and the inability of the Moldovan gov- Therefore, during the transformation of ernments (starting with the Iurie Leanca Bucharest into Plahotniuc regime`s advo- cabinet and ending with Pavel Filip) to cate in 2016-2019, Warsaw no longer had absorb this credit have arisen as a result a choice other than adopting a policy of of corruption in the Moldovan banking expectation and inertia. This perception system and differences in perceptions has been exacerbated in recent years by regarding the financial and banking in- Chisinau’s lack of interest in developing a stitutional standards and procedures of bilateral partnership with Poland. Finally, Poland. Moldova has never tried to get out of the paradigm of the mental map dependence Chisinau’s refusal to adjust its bureaucrat- dominated by the two direct geographi- ic-banking system responsible for credit cal neighbors (Romania and Ukraine) or absorption to Poland’s demands further the mental dependence on the former im- fuelled the disinterest in Chisinau. At 30 See the multiple statements of the then President the beginning of 2017 (at the initiative of Traian Basescu before the Vilnius Summit in Novem- ber 2013, as well as similar statements made since the Moldovan Ministry of Finance) the 2009, after winning the second term at Cotroceni. Filip government decided to dismantle 44 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

the unit for the implementation of the ary. The relationship with Warsaw was agreement for the Polish credit. This mea- to a certain extent more intense between sure was contrary to the logic of previous 2011-2015, but even in the latter case, contractual commitments between Polish Chisinau did not know how to establish and Moldovan companies and banks. a sustained bilateral partnership, capa- Thus, no penny has been invested so far ble of speculating Warsaw’s privileged to the interest of Moldova, because there status in Central and Eastern Europe, as was no will and capacity in Chisinau to an additional source of maximizing the understand the financial and regulatory development opportunities offered by requirements of Poland. Poland at a certain time (see the still un- used loan of 100 million Euros or another The bilateral relationship between 2015- agricultural loan of 15 million offered in 2019 (until June) remained captive to the 2007, this one not accessed also due to the malfunctioning of the Moldovan gov- carelessness and probably incompetence ernments during the mandate of which of the governments of that period). this potential source of very cheap credit could contribute to projects of strategic Poland is one of the most important importance for Moldova (in the field of sources of expertise on and for Moldova agriculture, in particular, or, for example, in Visegrad 4 and the EU as a whole, as for the construction of a modern waste- well as a potential source of moderniza- water treatment plant in Chisinau, as tion that Chisinau has not yet harnessed mentioned during the government meet- (with a political and economic potential ing on September 4, 201931). This potential at least comparable to that of Romania). can still be recovered at present, but a The year 2020 may become the year of political and human resources incentive the reactivation of a strategic relationship from the Maia Sandu cabinet is needed32, the ascendant of which was interrupted as well as an improvement at central (bu- in 2015-2016, a reality that still dominates reaucratic and diplomatic) level of knowl- out of inertia. Therefore, it is necessary edge about the banking standards of the to reinvigorate the political dialogue be- Polish State. tween the two capitals. A visit of the Mol- dovan prime minister is still expected, Conclusions and recommen- which is more than five months after the dations Maia Sandu`s government investment.

Since its independence Moldova has nev- At the time of writing this text, it has been er prioritized relations with the Visegrad five months since Moldova was released Group countries. In the mentality of the from the Plahotniuc regime, a regime that political elites from Chisinau, relations had at least a negative influence on rela- with these states were at best second- tions with Poland and V4 by extension. 31 For more details see (min. 44-48) https://www. Chisinau is trying to return to the status privesc.eu/Arhiva/88299/Sedinta-Guvernului-Re- publicii-Moldova-din-4-septembrie-2019 of “the best student of the Eastern Partner- 32 These incentives are needed even at the level of the diplo- ship class”, but this time it no longer has matic corps posted to Poland, where the Embassy of Moldova operates with only 5 diplomats and a breakdown budget. the same protective couch in Poland. In Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 45

other words, the interest of Poland, as well Moldova. Starting with the current Pol- as of the other V4 states, has acquired ac- ish ambassador Bartłomiej Zdaniuk, this cents of fatigue and even hidden rejection group (around 20 experts) includes not if we consider the strained relationship only experts in foreign policy and secu- between Kyiv and Budapest, or the lat- rity, but also experts in development or ter`s shifting its focus in relations with the local administration and infrastructure, Balkan states or close relations with Rus- who have accumulated over a decade the sia. 10 years after the Eastern Partnership knowledge relevant on and for Moldova. was launched in Prague in 2009, we are in The existence of this group of enthusiasts EaP’s review process, a process that will could represent a new beginning (based last at least 2-3 more years. on an organizational platform) of a for- malized and sustained dialogue for the Starting with November 2019, a V4 Mem- faster and really deeper development of ber State - Hungary - will have the port- bilateral relations. Many of these experts folio of the EU Commissioner for Neigh- are found in think tanks, NGOs, univer- borhood Relations. In light of the strained sities and European structures of region- relations between Kyiv and Budapest al development. in recent years, this is not necessarily a good sign for Moldova, which is why A major theme for the beginning of a fo- Chisinau should invest more resources to rum for debates and design of concrete improve its relationship with Warsaw if policies would be to set the Moldovan it wants to attract new opportunities. A profile institutions according to Poland’s new improvement would be represented requirements for lending in agriculture, by the increase in the number of diplo- environmental infrastructure, SMEs and matic corps and budget of the Moldovan the security of banking services. Here the embassy in Warsaw and a fostering of a Polish loan of 100 mln Euros would be more intensive political and economic back on the table of discussions. Poland dialogue. Creation of sectorial working would be ready to provide expertise and groups, with a diverse composition and funding for these sectors, but it needs an concrete agenda, including civil society interested and competent interlocutor or think tank experts could be a way to in Chisinau. It is high time for Chisinau get out of the passive area of diplomacy to expand its strategic partnership for- with “minimum human and financial re- mats and such a partnership with Poland sou rc e s”. would be a logical continuation of Moldo- va’s road to Europeanization. Poland enjoys the existence of a quite large group of specialized experts on 46 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

The bilateral relations of the Republic of Moldova with the USA. Multilateral cooperation within the UN, GUAM, the Council of Europe in 2009-2019: Hopes and Disillusionment on the Background of Excessive Politicization Mihai Popșoi Ambassador to Washington D.C. Just as curious was President Dodon’s tacit ac- Deputy-president of the Action and Solidar- ceptance of this nomination, which is at ity Party and Deputy Speaker of the Parlia- least questionable for such a serious po- ment of the Republic of Moldova sition.33 Especially that the former Am- bassador Aureliu Ciocoi (career diplomat The bilateral relations of the with large experience) had been recalled Republic of Moldova with the in suspicious circumstances just months USA after his appointment. Former ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the It is a well-known fact that a state’s for- USA, Igor Munteanu, described as regret- eign policy is a reflection and continui- table the fact that the Republic of Moldo- ty of its internal policy. The Republic of va does not have an ambassador “in the Moldova is a young state with profound most important nation in the world”.34 We congenital malformations. In addition to can only state with the same regret that the geographical location and historical even today, half a year after the recall of determinism, the country is facing prob- Cristina Balan, our country does not have lems of identity, reduced social cohesion, an Ambassador to Washington D.C. declining human capacity, weak economic potential and non-functioning insti- There is no doubt that the last ten years tutions, which only extract political rent have been marked both by successes and from the public but, also, from the private failures in the foreign policy of the Re- systems. public of Moldova, both bilaterally and multilaterally. Nevertheless, the Republic The dysfunctionality of the state cannot of Moldova was visited by US Vice Pres- fail to affect its foreign policy, which often ident Joseph Biden in March 2011,35 Ger- became an extension of party politics and man Chancellor Angela Merkel in August the personal interests of those who run the ruling party at one time or another. 33 Why doesn’t the Republic of Moldova have an ambassador to the United States? A “discreet” decree. Dodon approved This phenomenon certainly is damaging the appointment of the new ambassador to Washington D.C. to diplomacy and the promotion of the https://moldova.europalibera.org/a/dodon-a-sem- nat-decretul-de-numire-a-cristinei-balan-am- national interests of the Republic of Mol- basadoare-la-washington-/29273419.html dova. The most striking example in this 34 https://www.zdg.md/editia-print/politic/de-ce-r- moldova-nu-are-ambasador-in-statele-unite-ale-americii regard was probably the appointment by Vladimir Plahotniuc, in June 2018, of 35 US Vice President, Joseph Biden, comes to Chişinău. https://www.publika.md/vicepresedin- his former secretary Cristina Balan as tele-sua-joseph-biden-vine-la-chisinau_252561.html Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 47

2012,36 which shows a successful Moldo- October 9th, 2015, the Memorandum of van diplomacy and a high level of bilat- Understanding was signed in Chisinau, eral relations. However, in recent years by Elaine F. Marshall, Secretary of State of there has been increasing isolation on the North Carolina, and Andrei Galbur, Dep- background of a country image that has uty Minister of Foreign Affairs and Eu- become increasingly wrinkled by con- ropean Integration; as well as by Valeriu troversial decisions in the country’s do- Strelet, Prime Minister of the Republic of mestic policy. External partnerships have Moldova. This document has a duration undergone a sinusoidal evolution. In this of five years. Due to this partnership, the regard, bilateral relations with the United Republic of Moldova has increased its ca- States of America were no exception. pabilities in fields such as civil emergency operations, the expansion of the markets Over the years, political and economic re- for its products, has benefited from cul- lations have become closer, but our region tural, scientific and academic exchanges has not been a priority for Washington’s and has received humanitarian aid from foreign policy in the last decade. Howev- several governmental and non-govern- er, the biggest achievement came in 2010, mental organizations, including in the when the “Millennium Challenge Corpo- field of public health and safety.37 ration” agreement was signed, with a value of 262 million USD over a 5-year term. Following the annexation of Crimea by After the Republic of Moldova signed the the Russian Federation in 2014 and the Association Agreement with the Euro- conflict in Donbas, our region, includ- pean Union and the DCFTA in 2014, the ing Transnistrian region, has become United States expressed active support a hot topic on the US regional agenda. for the European integration of the Re- This process was cleverly exploited by public of Moldova. the Chisinau government, which capitalized on the worsening of the geopolitical The American state of North Carolina situation in the region to strengthen its has a special place in the RM-US rela- pro-Western political position at the ex- tions. This state has been a “sister state” pense of clear undemocratic backsliding with the Republic of Moldova since 1999 in domestic politics. However, the launch under the NATO Partnership for Peace of the strategic dialogue RM-USA in Program. This partnership has developed March 2014 is a success with many pos- actively in the last ten years. The Mem- itive long-term implications both in the orandum of Principles and Procedures field of political, economic relations and between the Republic of Moldova and the in the aspect of ensuring regional securi- State of North Carolina concerning their ty and stability. desire to strengthen their good relations was signed last time on September 30, The Moldovan-American defense coop- 2015, by Pat McCrory, Governor of North eration is based on the Memorandum Carolina, in Raleigh, North Carolina. On regarding the cooperation in the military 36 Angela Merkel, visits Chişinău. https://www. 37 Moldova Partnership. https://www.sos- dw.com/ro/angela-merkel-%C3%AEn-vizit%C4%83- nc.gov/divisions/moldova_partnership la-chi%C5%9Fin%C4%83u/a-16183692 48 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

area between the Ministry of Defense of This platform aims to establish a dia- the Republic of Moldova and the Depart- logue on the importance of Moldova-US ment of Defense of the United States of relations, the role of the Republic of Mol- America, signed on December 4th, 1995. dova in European security and energy This cooperation has continued for the security in Eastern Europe. last ten years. The National Army has repeatedly received assistance in the past In turn, the Moldovan Parliament of the decade. The equipment provided in 2011 twentieth legislature has set up a parlia- to the National Army consisted of over mentary platform - the Joint Commission 80 technical units.38 43 American combat for Strategic Dialogue “ProAmerica” to vehicles were donated in 2014 to the 22nd strengthen parliamentary diplomacy Peacekeeping Battalion. The donation and enhance inter-parliamentary coop- was made by the United States for the eration, as well as to strengthen strategic cooperation and participation of the Mol- cooperation between states, including by dovan military contingents in various increasing US investments in the Repub- missions abroad.39 The National Army lic of Moldova. Currently, the Friendship received in 2017 a new donation of mil- Group with the United States of America itary equipment from the Government is active within the Parliament of the Re- of the United States of America. The lot public of Moldova, created on July 05th, consisted of 41 HMMWV (High Mobili- 2019. The group includes 39 members, the ty Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) units Chairman being Mihail Popșoi, the Par- and trucks.40 liamentary Faction “The Action and Soli- darity Party, the ACUM Block”. At the same time, the strengthening of bilateral relations between the Repub- The United States grants diplomatic and lic of Moldova and the United States of financial support to the Republic of Mol- America continued through projects and dova, but sets out certain criteria and initiatives to support the Republic of Mol- conditions such as: fighting corruption at dova, such as the launch by Republican all levels, promoting economic reforms Congressman Pete Olson and Democrat and ensuring free competition in differ- David Price on July 13, 2017, of the “Con- ent fields. Currently the United States of gressional Moldova Caucus” - Support America continues to support the Repub- group for the Republic of Moldova from lic of Moldova, after having played an im- the US House of Representatives, within portant role in resolving the political and the 115th legislature of the US Congress. constitutional crisis that the Republic of 38 The US donates a batch of technical equip- Moldova went through in June 2019. The ment to the National Army. https://www.army. md/?lng=2&action=show&cat=122&obj=672 US remains an indispensable partner for 39 The National Army received a batch of military the Republic of Moldova and the quality equipment from the US: “We will bring other equipment too”. https://www.realitatea.md/armata-na- of bilateral relations and the support pro- ionala-a-primit-un-lot-de-tehnica-militara-din-partea- vided will largely determine the success sua-vom-aduce-i-alt-echipament-foto_11710.html of Chisinau in implementing its reform 40 The National Army received a donation of American mil- agenda. itary equipment. https://agora.md/stiri/28232/video--armata-nationala-a-primit-donatie-de-tehnica-militara-americana Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 49

Although the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik The multilateral cooperation Amendment to the Republic of Moldova of the Republic of Moldova in 2012 eliminated the existing trade re- within the United Nations strictions in the Moldovan-US bilateral cooperation and created the necessary The United Nations, based on the prin- premises for the exploitation of the per- ciples enshrined in the UN Charter, manent normal trade regime in economic contributes to maintaining international relations, this opportunity remains un- peace and security, promoting human used. Economic cooperation of the USA well-being and rights, including in the and the Republic of Moldova is relative- Republic of Moldova. The Republic of ly modest. There are approximately 382 Moldova became a UN member on March companies with US capital in Moldova 2nd, 1992, once the UN General Assem- and the invested capital is 31.4 million bly adopted Resolution A/RES/46/223. USD (2018). The United States ranks 6th As a universal forum for debating global among the top foreign investors. The vol- issues, the Republic of Moldova attaches ume of foreign trade of the Republic of particular importance to the UN’s role in Moldova with the United States of Amer- promoting democracy and human rights, ica in 2018 registered an amount of about maintaining international peace and se- 98 million USD. curity, economic and social development, respecting the principles of international According to the value of the volume law and the rule of law. of trade, the USA ranks 18th among the partner countries with which the Repub- The cooperation of the Republic of Mol- lic of Moldova has commercial relations, dova with the UN and its specialized in- with a share of only 1.15%. Exports from stitutions represents an important field Moldova totaled 21 million USD, while in the country`s activity. Currently, the goods imported from the United States UN activity in Moldova is carried out in totaled 76 million USD. Although there accordance with the UN - Republic of Mol- has been a significant increase in trade dova Partnership Framework for Sustain- in recent years, the above statistics indi- able Development (CPDD) 2018–2022. The cate the huge potential that is missed in CPDD 2018–2022 and subsequent UN stra- bilateral trade.41 The main cause of this tegic documents for the development of failure is the high level of corruption and the Republic of Moldova should be viewed the lack of an independent justice system, as 5-year action plans designed to contrib- which keeps many potential investors ute to achieving the 2030 Vision approved away. by the Government of the Republic of Mol- dova. The CPDD supports Moldova’s de- 41 Trade and economic relations: USA-Repub- velopment efforts and its ambitions for Eu- ropean integration in four priority areas:

lic of Moldova https://sua.mfa.gov.md/ro/content/rela%C5%A3ii-comercial-economice 50 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

1. Governance, human rights and gender nized with the new Assistance Framework, equality the Republic of Moldova-EU Association Agreement and other documents in prog- 2. Sustainable, inclusive and fair economic ress, which will ensure the coherence of growth these documents and will bring a considerable contribution to the implementation of 3. Sustainability and resilience of the the reforms agenda of the Government of environment the Republic of Moldova.

4. Inclusive and equitable social development Similarly, the Republic of Moldova will receive support from the United Nations Currently, over 20 specialized agencies, Industrial Development Organization UN funds and programs have offices in (UNIDO) in order to increase industrial Chisinau, or project offices, as follows: productivity, stimulate the entrepreneur- UN Development Program (UNDP); UN ial environment, encourage innovation Children’s Fund (UNICEF); World Health and use best practices for full integration Organization (WHO); International Labor into European Union markets and global Organization (ILO); United Nations Entity value chains. for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN); Food and Agri- These, as well as other important goals culture Organization (FAO); etc. were discussed during the launch of the UNIDO Country Program for Inclusive In the context of RM-UN cooperation, on and Sustainable Development in the Re- June 10-12, 2017, RM was visited by the UN public of Moldova for the period 2019- Deputy Secretary General, UN Women 2023. The framework program will focus Executive Director, Mrs. Phumzile Mlam- on developing and strengthening the bo-Ngcuka, this being one of the highest global value chain, developing export ca- level visits of a UN official in recent years. pacities, developing tourism, increasing During the visit, the UN official held a se- energy efficiency in industrial processes, ries of meetings with the top leadership of rural development, supporting small and the Republic of Moldova, during which the medium-sized enterprises, competitive- progress made by our country with regard ness and innovation, and not the least to gender equality and women’s rights, as – creation of jobs and attracting invest- well as further reforms in this area, were ments. The launch and implementation discussed. of this Program will surely bring added value to multilateral cooperation with Another aspect that will contribute to the both UNIDO and the other development efficiency of the RM-UN communication partners of the Republic of Moldova. is drafting new Country Programs of the specialized UN agencies resident in the Besides the development and good gov- Republic of Moldova, such as UNFPA, ernance component, the relations with- UNICEF, UNDP. These Country Programs, in the UN also have a pronounced po- planned for the years 2018-2022, are harmo- litical component. For example, the UN Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 51

General Assembly adopted on June 22, Thus, more than 450 Moldovan officers 2018, with 64 votes “pro”, 15 “against” and under-officers - infantrymen, sap- and 83 abstentions the Resolution of the pers and senior officers - were dislocated Republic of Moldova on the withdraw- in the period of 2014-2019 in the multina- al of Russian troops from the Trans- tional base “Camp Vilaggio Italia” of the nistrian region. The Czech Republic, Multinational Group of Forces MNBG-W Poland and the United Kingdom were (Multinational Battle Group - West), from co-sponsors of the resolution of the Pech, Kosovo. This experience contrib- Republic of Moldova. Although Russia utes significantly to increasing the level strongly opposed and proposed with- of training of the National Army staff drawing the Resolution from the agen- and increasing the interoperability with da, the proposal was not supported by our partners. The political decision taken the Member States. This Resolution can in 2013, although delayed, has increased be considered a success of the Moldo- the credibility of the Republic of Moldova van diplomacy, despite the instrumen- on the international arena with its own talization of this step in the context of contribution to the KFOR mission. De- an obvious artificial antagonization of spite its reduced economic and military bilateral relations with the Russian Fed- potential,43 through this contribution eration at that time. Moldova has positioned itself as a security provider, not just a consumer, as previ- Although Moldova is always regard- ously perceived. ed as a security consumer, our country has actively participated in several The multilateral cooperation peacekeeping missions under the aegis of the Republic of Moldova of UN (Ivory Coast, Liberia, South Su- within the GUAM dan, Central African Republic, Kosovo). Since 2014, the Republic of Moldova The creation of the consultative forum has deployed 11 contingents of Nation- of four GUAM states (Georgia, Ukraine, al Army troops in the KFOR mission Azerbaijan and Moldova) took place on in Kosovo, as part of the Multination- October 10th, 1997, in Strasbourg, during al Peacekeeping Force. The decision to the Summit of the Council of Europe. In send the troops was approved by the this document, signed by the four Presi- Parliament of the Republic of Moldova dents, the need to develop quadrilateral on November 1st, 2013. The peacekeep- cooperation for strengthening stability ing mission in Kosovo is carried out in and security in Europe was emphasized accordance with UN Security Council based on the following principles: resolution 1244. The first contingent of Moldovan peacekeepers was posted to 1. respect for sovereignty; Kosovo in March 2014, and the 11th was posted in June 2019.42 2. territorial integrity;

42 KFOR -11 contingent, trained in the field 43 Peacekeeping Contributor Profile: Moldova http:// of operational law. https://www.army.md/?l- www.providingforpeacekeeping.org/2015/10/20/ ng=2&action=show&cat=122&obj=5679 peacekeeping-contributor-profile-moldova/ 52 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

3. the inviolability of state borders; jectives and joint efforts to counter these challenges; GUAM on the international 4. democracy; arena: activity and relations of GUAM member countries within internation- 5. the rule of law and respect for human al organizations. Moldova also hosted rights. the 7th annual meeting of PA GUAM in Chisinau, on November 10-11, 2014. Un- The Strasbourg Communiqué formal- fortunately, the organization has entered ly foresees the increasing political rap- in the last decade in a state of lethargy prochement and the practical intensifica- from which it fails to come out despite tion of cooperation between these states some efforts in recent years. The Presi- in several fields, both on the international dency is exercised in 2019 by Ukraine, arena and in bilateral relations. However, but the Republic of Moldova ignored the the effectiveness of the organization has meeting of the Speakers of the GUAM proven to be sporadic. The first meeting Parliaments in Kiev, preferring a meeting of the GUAM Heads of State took place within the CIS. This gesture is a bold one on June 7th, 2001, which became the most on the realignment of the foreign policy important event in the creation and insti- of the Republic of Moldova. tutionalization of this regional group as a regional organization. The GUAM Char- Despite comprehensive cooperation ter establishes the goals, principles and strategies within GUAM, based on the spheres of collaboration of the Member “Vision Document” of the Georgian Pres- States, these being: strengthening and idency presented in Tbilisi, October 8, extending the commercial-economic re- 2017, the organization has not achieved lations; developing the infrastructure of any success in the process of implement- the transport corridors, by harmonizing ing the proposed objectives. The efforts to the legislative and institutional base in implement the agreement on the creation this field and connecting the tariff and of the Free Trade Area in the GUAM area customs terms, so that they comply with have not evolved significantly. This lack international standards; international se- of progress is regrettable, considering curity; the fight with international terror- the added value of this project from an ism, organized crime, illegal migration economic and political point of view. In and drug trafficking. this context, it is necessary to develop an expertise of the real capacities correlated The GUAM Presidency-in-Office was with the strategic objectives of GUAM held in 2018 by the Republic of Moldova. to increase the efficiency of the organi- During September 27-28, 2018, Moldova zation. The initiative of the GUAM Sec- hosted the 11th annual meeting of the retariat is also welcomed to set up an in- GUAM Parliamentary Assembly. It was vestment fund for international projects. discussed during the meeting: prospects In order to strengthen the multilateral co- for sectoral cooperation between GUAM operation within GUAM, it is necessary member states; Information security in to strengthen the legal framework of the the GUAM region: new challenges, ob- organization. Only then can the viability Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 53

of the organization be relaunched and since 1995, and the graduation by the Re- assured, which was once very promising. public of Moldova from this process will indicate the attainment of a high level of Among the few successes of cooperation respect for the democratic norms in our within the Organization, the develop- country. ment of international transport within the perimeter of the GUAM corridor can The Action Plan of the Council of Europe be highlighted, as well as the develop- for the Republic of Moldova 2017-2020 ment of the GUAM transport corridor. was approved by the Committee of Min- Discussions began on the possibility of isters in February 2017. The Action Plan eliminating roaming charges between is a strategic programming tool aimed at the Organization’s member countries. An further aligning Moldovan legislation, important aspect is that the Organization institutions and practice with European has been perceived since the foundation standards concerning human rights, the as a platform meant to counterbalance rule of law and democracy, supporting, Russia’s influence in the post-Soviet thus, the country in fulfilling its obliga- space, especially in the energy field, by tions as a member state of the Council of enhancing the infrastructure and inter- Europe. In addition, the Action Plan re- connecting the gas and oil pipelines. Due flects the priorities of the reforms in the to the lack of cohesion between the Mem- country, including those identified in the ber States, but also due to lack of vision, National Development Strategy “Moldo- strategic planning and political stability va 2020”, the National Strategy for decen- in the Member States, the organization tralization and other sectoral strategies. has not yet reached its potential. The assistance of the Council of Europe The multilateral cooperation of covers multiple policy areas, including the Republic of Moldova with the functioning of democratic institu- the Council of the Europe – tions, with a greater focus on constitutional and electoral issues, fighting cor- PACE ruption, supporting justice sector reform, The history of the relations of the Council strengthening the capacities of national of Europe with the Republic of Moldova human rights institutions, combating began in 1995, being based on the values ill-treatment and impunity, combating of promoting human rights, democracy trafficking in human beings, support for and the rule of law. The Council of Eu- media freedom and pluralism, support rope is working to support the Republic for education for democratic citizenship, of Moldova in order to comply with the local democracy and decentralization, as standards of the Organization and the well as strengthening trust between peo- rule of law through a series of mecha- ple on both banks of the Nistru river. nisms that monitor the evolution of the Republic of Moldova in these aspects. The assistance programs of the Council Therefore, our country is under formal of Europe implemented in the Republic of monitoring of the Council of Europe Moldova also include a series of joint re- 54 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

gional programs of the European Union The ECHR is the last refuge for those and the Council of Europe carried out wronged by the national courts. The under the Good Governance Partnership ECHR has delivered since 1997 over 400 (GGP). The actions envisaged in the GGP decisions in Moldovan cases. The most are dedicated to strengthening the re- common types of violations found by the form in the justice sector, supporting free ECHR in Moldovan cases are non-exe- and fair elections, combating corruption cution of court decisions, ill-treatment, and cyber crimes. inadequate investigation of ill-treatment and deaths, imprisonment in bad condi- The Parliamentary Assembly of the tions, improper cancellation of irrevoca- Council of Europe is an important po- ble court decisions.45 Based on the ECHR litical platform for the Republic of Mol- judgments and decisions issued until No- dova. Resolutions in recent years of this vember 1st, 2019, the Republic of Moldova European forum have highlighted the was obliged to pay compensations of ap- anti-democratic slippage of the Govern- proximately EUR 17,000,000. ment in Chisinau. In fact, former CoE Sec- retary General Thorbjørn Jagland was the The Court found that the Convention first international high ranking official was violated or is in the process of ex- to speak about the Republic of Moldova amining of many cases with major so- in the context of a captured state.44 This cial and political impact for our society: international public pressure has served the Ilașcu, Mușuc, Hyde Park, Brega, as a catalyst for several organizations and Genderdoc-M, Tănase, Brăguța, Petren- leaders of the Member States to take a co, Filat cases.46 The case of the Turkish stand against political events in Moldova. teachers, the struggle between the Metro- politan Church of Bessarabia and that of Perhaps the most sought institutions Moldova, the situation of the Romanian within the Council of Europe in rela- schools in the Transnistrian region, and tion to the Republic of Moldova are the other cases have major impact not only European Court of Human Rights and on the internal policy, but also have pro- the European Commission for Democ- found external implications. Therefore, racy through Law (Venice Commission). we can say that the ECHR is also an indi- Namely these institutions, along with rect mechanism for promoting the inter- the multiple resolutions of the PACE, on ests of the Republic of Moldova through the one hand highlight the deficiencies of “naming and shaming” in the context in the judicial, legislative and constitutional which, for example, the Russian Federa- system, and on the other hand, contribute tion or Turkey are concerned. significantly to the improvement of these deficiencies. The contribution of these However, if the ECHR’s decisions against two institutions to the feeble democra- 45 21 years of ECHR in the Republic of Moldova. https:// crjm.org/21-ani-de-cedo-in-republica-moldova/ cy and the rule of law in the Republic of Moldova are difficult to underestimate. 46 Summary of violations found by the European Court of Human Rights regarding the Republic of Moldova 12 44 Thorbjørn Jagland. Bring Moldova Back From September 1997 - 31 December 2017. https://crjm.org/ the Brink. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/ wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Violari-20-de-ani.pdf opinion/bring-moldova-back-from-the-brink.html Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 55

Moldova are most often of an individu- Court, the time frame for forming a new al nature, the rights of some natural or government expired on 9 June, three cal- legal persons being harmed, the Venice endar months after the confirmation of Commission offers amicus curiae on the election results. 9 June being a Sun- matters of comparative and international day, the applicable deadline was possibly constitutional law, thus directly affect- 10 June. Therefore, the Commission says, ing the whole society. Even though the Maia Sandu’s investiture on 8 June met Commission has an advisory role, it is an the legal deadline”, the Venice Commis- institution respected because of its inde- sion statement states.48 pendence. In our case, the Commission is an institution that has been increasingly Even if the former Speaker of the Parlia- requested lately in the context of justice ment, the democrat Andrian Candu, tried reform. Though the Commission ex- to downplay in advance the importance pressed its vision before the amendment of the opinion that the Venice Commis- of the electoral legislation in 2017, when sion, which should have issued next week the PDM and the PSRM voted to intro- after the controversial decisions of the duce the mixed voting system, the Com- Constitutional Court, including on the mission’s opinion was ignored. presence of the conditions for dissolution of the Parliament, the Commission’s mes- Nevertheless, the worst political crisis in sage had a considerable impact on soci- the history of the Republic of Moldova ety, but also on the way the events were took place in June 2019. The Commission perceived by the foreign partners. In a was notified then by the Secretary Gener- desperate attempt to save the situation, al of the Council of Europe himself, Thor- Candu said that any decision taken by bjørn Jagland. The opinion was unprece- the Venice Commission cannot be bind- dented - for the first time in history the ing on the Moldovan authorities, and Venice Commission expressed its opin- only as a recommendation.49 However, ion on decisions issued by a constitution- the Commission’s opinion, which could al court.47 Those suspicious decisions of be anticipated, contributed to the peace- the Court on how to calculate the three- ful and relatively rapid resolution of the month term, in which the Government political and constitutional crisis of June was to be invested, the Venice Commis- 2019. Therefore, even if politicians can be sion mentioned that “it is unprecedented selective in how they perceive the role the Court’s manner of calculating the and opinions of the Commission, the im- three-month time limit for the formation portance of the Venice Commission for of a government. According to the accept- the political system in the Republic of ed calculation of the three months limit Moldova is hard to underestimate. foreseen in the Civil Code, which was previously applied by the Constitutional 48 Venice Commission: the dissolution of parliament in the Republic of Moldova did not meet the required conditions. 47 Verdict of the Venice Commission regarding Mol- https://search.coe.int/directorate_of_communications/ dova, as a sentence of usurpation of power in the Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=0900001680950b36 state. https://www.dw.com/ro/verdict-al-comis- iei-de-la-vene%C8%9Bia-viz%C3%A2nd-moldo- 49 What the Venice Commission can and cannot do. va-c%C3%A2t-o-sentin%C8%9B%C4%83-de-uzur- https://moldova.europalibera.org/a/ce-poate-%C8%99i- pare-a-puterii-%C3%AEn-stat/a-49297980 ce-nu-poate-comisia-de-la-vene%C5%A3ia/29999517.html 56 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

Conclusions and recommen- assistance and security in the region, but dations more and more as a security provider by participating in peacekeeping missions, The bilateral, as well as the multilateral both military and civilian. cooperation of the Republic of Moldova with the USA, UN, GUAM and CoE has The Republic of Moldova needs to capi- been determined in the last years by a talize on the opportunities offered by sinusoidal evolution, determined, on the GUAM in the economic, as well as in the one hand, by the internal political pro- political field, by strengthening the - ef cesses in the Republic of Moldova, and on forts to build the transport and energy the other hand, by nature of the geopo- infrastructure connections in the region. litical and geo-economic priorities of the Likewise, the efficiency of the relations in region. There are opportunities to redress the commercial field must be a priority. the setbacks and loopholes of the recent However, the experience of the ten years years, but the success of the Republic of does not leave much room for optimism Moldova in its foreign policy remains in order to make the activity of this re- closely linked to the ability of domestic gional organization more efficient. political actors to find reasonable com- promises, which would add value in The Council of Europe must remain a pri- promoting the national interests of the ority for the multilateral foreign policy of Republic of Moldova. the Republic of Moldova. Chisinau needs to be more skilled and creative in pro- Given that the Republic of Moldova is an- moting its interests on this platform. The chored on the European integration agen- delegation of the Republic of Moldova to da, but still continues to be dependent on the PACE should be more careful in its the Russian Federation in many respects, positions and votes cast in the Assembly the strategic partnership and dialogue plenary. The ECHR must remain that last with the US must remain the cornerstone refuge for the unjust, but the Republic of of Moldova’s foreign policy. As long as Moldova must adjust its own legislation our country is not of strategic interest to and administrative practices so that it Washington D.C., Chisinau must make has as few convictions as possible. At the sustained efforts to stay on the radar of same time, the Venice Commission must US foreign policy and to benefit from the remain that independent external arbitra- support and multi-dimensional assis- tor in an unstable and often too flexible tance of the US government. internal political climate in the field of constitutional jurisprudence. The Republic of Moldova must further capitalize on the opportunities offered by the UN, but at the same time must continue to support the organization’s efforts in both the social-economic and political-military fields. So that our country is perceived not only as a consumer of Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 57

Moldova-NATO Partnership: from modernizing the security and defense sector to societal security

Victoria Roșa identify and explain the major challenges at the level of institutional cooperation Foreign policy and security expert, Foreign but also public perception. Also, atten- Policy Association of Moldova tion is paid to opportunities for partnership development under the political and The relations between the Republic of geopolitical conditions existing at region- Moldova and the North-Atlantic Alliance al and international level. have been established, naturally, once with the declaration of independence and Institutional cooperation the foreshadowing of a foreign policy with framework Republic of a pro-Western vision on the one hand, and Moldova - NATO the Alliance’s desire to reform and transform into a politico-military a structure, on the other hand. The neutrality status of Partnership for Peace the Republic of Moldova written down in the constitution and respected by the Eu- Understanding the geopolitical sensitivity ro-Atlantic partners, establishes from the of the Eastern European region, and not beginning the level and the limits of the only, on December 20th, 1991, in Brussels, cooperation, which often represent a topic the North Atlantic Cooperation Council of discussions but also divergences of po- (NACC) was created with the purpose of litical-social nature. establishing a permanent forum for consultations on European security issues Although the word NATO was a taboo with the states which are not NATO mem- for the Moldovan society, the coopera- bers. Moldova joined the Council in 1992, tion was kept and developed periodi- and later in 1997 this format of cooperation cally regardless of the political situation was succeeded by the Euro-Atlantic Part- in Chisinau. The east - west geopolitical nership Council, the purpose remaining paradigm, which is prevalent in the po- the same. However, the practical coopera- litical, social and economic life of the Re- tion between the Republic of Moldova and public of Moldova, remains crucial in the NATO began with the signing, in 2014, of process of transforming the cooperation the Program “Partnership for Peace” (PfP) relations, having a difficult word to say framework document, thus Moldova be- including in the process of public assim- coming the 12th country that joined the ilation of the positive results of the part- PfP. Within the CIS states, the Republic of nership. Moldova was the second country to join the PfP after Ukraine, a step that demon- The purpose of this work is primarily strated, at that time, the desire for deeper to review the main developments in the cooperation but also the Euro-Atlantic de- relations of cooperation between the Re- velopment course. 50 public of Moldova - NATO, as well as to 50 Republic of Moldova – NATO relations, https://www. 58 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

Although Moldova cooperates with Between 2003 and 2008, 6 contingents of NATO in different fields, the actions en- Moldovan military (over 100 people in visaged in the bilateral cooperation for- total) participated in the post-conflict hu- mat are directly focused on supporting manitarian mission in Iraq. the efforts of the Republic of Moldova to reform the security and defense sector at UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan the level of structures and institutions. - UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan): During 2008- Thanks to the cooperation within the PfP, 2014, 4 military transport helicopters of the Republic of Moldova benefits from the National Army MI-8 carried out per- the expertise and experience of NATO sonnel transport and logistics assurance member states and partners in areas such missions within the mission. as: reform of the armed forces, assistance in the training of the staff, language Since 2003, more than 70 Moldovan mil- training of the National Army officers, all itary have participated in international of them allowing the increase of the ca- missions under the UN auspices in Cote pabilities of the armed forces but also the d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sudan, South Sudan and transformation of the military structures Georgia. At present, 8 Moldovan military and their modernization. An aspect, not are active in UN peacekeeping opera- less important, is ensuring the access to tions in Liberia, Cote d ‘Ivory and South information, statistics, sources of politi- Sudan. 51 cal, technical and financial assistance offered by PfP. Thanks to the cooperation During the years 1997-1999, the first OSCE with NATO, the Republic of Moldova mission of the National Army was under- contributes to preserving international taken in Chechnya, where two Moldovan security, PfP allowing the acquaintance officers participated. From October 1998 of the Moldovan military with the way to March 1999, three officers were active of carrying out peacekeeping operations. in the Kosovo Verification Mission. 8 sol- To date, the Republic of Moldova has par- diers participated in the OSCE Mission ticipated and continues to participate in in Georgia in the period 2000-2002, and several peacekeeping missions under the between 2001-2002, two officers of the aegis of NATO, OSCE and UN, among National Army participated in the OSCE which we can mention: Mission in Macedonia. 17 officers of the National Army of the Republic of Moldo- NATO-led KFOR operation in Kosovo: va participated in various OSCE missions On March 8, 2014, the Republic of Moldo- (Chechnya - 2, Macedonia - 2, Georgia - va deployed its contingent of 41 soldiers 13) by 2013.52 (one platoon - 33 military, a demining team - 7 military and a weather expert). Starting with 1995, the Republic of Mol- Every 6 months, the contingent rotation dova implements the Individual Partner- of the Republic of Moldova takes place. 51 Republic of Moldova – NATO relations, https://www. mfa.gov.md/ro/content/relatiile-republica-moldova-nato

52 https://www.army.md/?lng=2&action=show&cat=163 mfa.gov.md/ro/content/relatiile-republica-moldova-nato Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 59

ship Program (IPP), which in 2014 was DCBI, as a whole, may include different replaced by the Partnership Cooperation types of assistance, from strategic con- Menu (PCM). PCM allows employees of sulting on defense and security sector Moldovan public structures to participate reform and institution building, to the in conferences, seminars, workshops, development of local forces through ed- training courses, practical exercises on ucation and training or consulting and different topics organized by NATO in assistance in specialized fields, such as areas such as: reform of the armed forc- logistics or cyber defense. In the Republic es, control of armaments and disarma- of Moldova, the purpose of this program ment, civil protection, prevention and is to strengthen the defense capabilities resolution of crisis situations, combating through two stages: international assis- terrorism, planning and conducting joint tance in the development of defense pol- peacekeeping operations and prepar- icies and providing financial assistance, ing staff. In 1997, Republic of Moldova including by establishing trust funds for took an important step in the process of the Republic of Moldova. initiating the military reform by joining PARP, a program aimed at reforming the Thus, the following were accomplished: armed forces, developing military interoperability with the Alliance forces as 1) The project of the National Security well as developing the capacity of the Re- Strategy of the Republic of Moldova was public of Moldova to participate in inter- elaborated with the support of the Alli- national peacekeeping operations. In this ance experts, subsequently withdrawn in context, on December 16th, 1997, the Mis- 2017 by President Igor Dodon for review. sion of the Republic of Moldova to NATO The document has not been updated so was established, aiming to coordinate ac- far; the defence policies elaborated after- tivities on the NATO53 line and maintain wards refer strictly to the 2011 National dialogue with allied states. Security Strategy. In July 2018, the Nation- al Defense Strategy of the Republic of Mol- To further support the modernization dova was approved, a document that sets efforts and the defense reform itself, at out the objectives and tasks in the field of the NATO summit in Wales on Septem- defense. Later, in October 2018, the Mili- ber 4-5, 2014, the Republic of Moldova tary Strategy of the Republic of Moldova was invited to participate in 2 new initia- was approved, which also includes a re- tives launched by the Alliance, namely: view of the armed forces structure. The Defense Capacity Building Initiative (DCBI) and Interoperability Platform (IP). 2) In 2019, the second phase began, name- As a continuation, on June 24th, 2015, the ly providing practical assistance for the defense ministers of the NATO states ap- development of the defense and security proved the Assistance Package for the capabilities of the Republic of Moldova. Republic of Moldova within the Defense Capacity Building Initiative (DCBI). The In parallel with the two steps mentioned 53 Ibidem above, Republic of Moldova has also ben- 60 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

efited from other programs offered by the society in the Republic of Moldova NATO such as: strengthening the integ- remains divided between east and west, rity in the security and defense sector, often artificially, under the influence of implementing UN Security Council Res- political discourses. The political agenda olution 1325 on the role of women in pro- of the Republic of Moldova, the frequent moting peace and security, cyber defense internal political crises, the regional se- and strategic communication (StratCom) curity discourse, but also the geopolit- both at policy development and training ical factor are hampering the country’s levels. Participation in the Building Integ- capacities to capitalize on NATO’s assis- rity (BI) program assists Moldova in its tance, thus also undermining the coun- agenda of eradicating corruption by eval- try’s capacity to strengthen its defense uating policies, strengthening anti-cor- capabilities. The partnership between the ruption practices, providing training and Republic of Moldova and NATO is based education to civilian and military per- on the principle of cooperation according sonnel. Thus, by contributing to reduc- to requests, which allows interaction at ing the risk of corruption in the defense different speeds but also preserving the and security sector and strengthening continuous nature of the dialogue. integrity, accountability, transparency and good governance, NATO programs Individual Partnership Action interlink with the association agenda of Plan (IPAP) the Republic of Moldova. The Individual Partnership Action Plan An important event was also the opening (IPAP) Republic of Moldova - NATO was of the NATO liaison office in Chisinau, adopted by the North Atlantic Council on December 8th, 2017, which plays an (NAC) and the Government of the Re- important role in providing public infor- public of Moldova in May 2006 and was mation about NATO and in explaining the subsequently updated in August 2010, support given to the Republic of Moldova. July 2014 and September 2017. Following the evaluation on the 2017-2019 IPAP, a Although the opportunities offered by new document should be negotiated. The NATO partnership are major, both for the primary purpose of the IPAP is to pro- development and training of institutions mote the reforms regarding the modern- and for the professional development of ization of the security and defense sector individuals, the lack of a comprehensive involving all state institutions. The objec- vision for reform and medium and long- tive pursued by the Republic of Moldova term planning, including professional through the implementation of IPAP is to human capital, jeopardizes progress and enhance the country’s ability to ensure its reduces the speed of reforms to the max- own security and to transform itself from imum. Capitalizing of the existing pro- a consumer of security into a country grams and projects in terms of institu- providing security tions and human resources is conditioned by the political situation in the country, IPAP is a document that folds under the taking into account the fact that, to date, European Association agenda of the Re- Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 61

public of Moldova, aiming at a series of alerting if this level would exceed the objectives such as deepening cooperation critical parameters.54 with Euro-Atlantic structures and institutions, promoting democratic reforms Today, the cooperation within the SPS and practices in various fields, strength- focuses on defense against chemical, bi- ening democratic control of the armed ological, radiological and nuclear agents, forces. One of the major advantages of as well as activities on cyber defense, this cooperation format is that the oppor- counter-terrorism and border security. tunities and areas of cooperation can be NATO helped Moldova set up a cyber de- extended depending on the needs of the fense laboratory at the Technical Univer- partner, in this case of the Republic of sity of Moldova and a mobile biological Moldova. One of the major shortcomings laboratory to counter the threats from bi- of the Republic of Moldova, but also the ological agents such as anthrax. 55 reason why IPAP-type documents are not capitalized is the low capacity of the in- Also, with the assistance of the SPS pro- stitutions to assimilate the assistance, but gram, the Moldovan government in part- also the lack of communication culture nership with civil society and other inter- and institutional interoperability. national actors, UN Women specifically, developed in March 2018 its first nation- Scientific cooperation al action plan56 on promoting the role of women in defense and security. This Plan Since 1997, the Republic of Moldova has contributes to the implementation of the participated in the Science for Peace and Women, Peace and Security Agenda set Security Program (SPS) thus developing out in United Nations Security Council the scientific side of NATO cooperation. Resolution 1325 and related resolutions. Initially, NATO supported 2 projects of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic Implementation of bilateral of Moldova worth about $ 153,000 USD. projects through other NATO Projects aimed at establishing the infor- assistance mechanisms mation network of the Academy of Sci- ences and maintaining the informational NATO has contributed through various network of the Polytechnic Community instruments to the accomplishment of also obtained NATO support through some humanitarian projects including SPS. Environmental security is an area in the Republic of Moldova. The signing of specific interest for the projects within 54 Cooperation in the scientific field, SPS, https://www. mfa.gov.md/ro/content/cooperarea-domeniul-stiintific the SPS program. As a result of identify- ing the need for assistance on this sector, 55 Country Flyer 2018, SPS, https://www.nato. int/science/country-fliers/Moldova.pdf during 2005-2007 with NATO support, a project aimed at managing the waters 56 DECISION No. 259 of March 28, 2018 regarding the approval of the National Program for the imple- of the Nistru and Prut rivers was devel- mentation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on oped. The project focused on establishing women, peace and security for the years 2018-2021 and of the Action Plan on its implementation a mechanism for continuous testing of the pollution level of the two rivers and , http://lex.justice.md/md/374810/ 62 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

on June 28th, 2001, of the Memorandum How is NATO perceived in of Understanding with the NATO Or- the Republic of Moldova ganization for Maintenance and Supply (NAMSO) on cooperation in the field of Although the neutrality status of the Re- logistics allowed the creation of a Special public of Moldova which is enshrined in Affectation Fund in 2002. It allowed the the constitution and respected by the Eu- implementation of the project aimed at ro-Atlantic partners, clearly establishes, the destruction of 11,872 antipersonnel from the beginning, the level and limits mines and 250 cubic meters of mixed mis- of the cooperation, often the relationship sile fuel, the cost of the project amounting of the Republic of Moldova with NATO to $ 1.1 million. 57 is a subject of political-social discussions and divergences. The east - west geopolit- Another major project implemented in co- ical paradigm, predominant in the politi- operation with NATO is the Project on the cal, social and economic life of the Repub- destruction of pesticides and dangerous lic of Moldova, remains a determining chemicals launched on May 12, 2006. The factor in the process of assimilation by project was implemented in 3 stages: 58 our public of the country ‘s partnership with NATO, a possible accession being 1. November 2006 - July 2007 - Central- perceived as a potential risk for regional ized packing and storage of 1700 tons destabilization. of pesticides. For these works, NATO states allocated 841 thousand euros. The potential NATO membership is presented in the form of a situational nar- 2. February 2005 - January 2009 - Identi- rative as a serious danger that is further fication of the chemical composition of strengthened by the strategic narrative pesticides. NATO offered to the Repub- inherited from the Cold War, namely the lic of Moldova a grant of 143 thousand expansion of the NATO military bloc. euros for the set-up of a Laboratory Through well-directed messages, it is used to identify unknown pesticides. presented, on the one hand, as a threat to the neutrality of the Republic of Moldo- 3. February 2010 - June 2018 - Destruc- va, and on the other, as a step that could tion of 1269 tones of pesticides. For the trigger the direct confrontation with Rus- implementation of this stage from the sia, thus endangering security in the East allied and partner states, the amount European space. However, there was no of 2 200 000 euros was collected, out serious discussion on the concept of na- of which 325 thousand euros allocated tional security and how the Republic of represented the Republic of Moldova’s Moldova sees the development of its rela- contribution to the project. tions from the perspective of security and defense in the public space. 57 https://www.mfa.gov.md/ro/content/proiecte-pentru-moldova According to the May 2018 Barometer of 58 Ibidem Public Opinion, 20.8% of the respondents would vote for a possible accession to Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 63

Table No. 1

Table No. 2

NATO, this figure decreasing compared Conclusions and recommen- to March 2003 when the percentage was dations 36.8% and the number of undecided respondents was 33.3%. Concluding, we The Republic of Moldova fully benefits can see that over the years, the informa- from cooperation with NATO, the agenda tion space in the Republic of Moldova being guided by the national interests of has been massively under the influence Moldova and its express requests. Cur- of the Russian Federation, the Russian rently we cannot identify another more narratives being widespread. NATO is viable and constructive partnership that still perceived in the Republic of Moldova would contribute to the development of more as a political-military bloc with an military capabilities but also the security enlargement agenda than a development and defense policy framework. However, and modernization partner in the field of although the communication campaigns defense and security. about NATO in the Republic of Moldova 64 Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019

have increased, the results of cooperation with NATO are not known, as much as we would like to, by the general public, nor are they presented institutionally, in a format that could contribute to change of perception.

The strategy of keeping - low profile - which is often followed by institutions, can bring benefits for the continuation and development of the partnership at a certain stage but does not allow the outline of a new image, of a stable and trustworthy image of NATO as Republic Moldova’s partner. As long as the citizen will not be targeted in direct communication in order to explain the benefits of the partnership, NATO’s image will not change, and the hearts of Moldovan citizens will continue to be influenced by the information flows that are most often generated by elements of the hybrid war.

At the same time, the diversification of the relations with the Euro-Atlantic partners, the intensification of the cooperation and its strengthening depends on the political will and the maturity of the political class in Chisinau in approaching a unitary security and defence vision of the Republic of Moldova outlines by the main national interests and not the geopolitical clichés. Policy brief about the foreign policy evolution of the Republic of Moldova during the period of 2009-2019 65 Asociaţia pentru Politica Externă din Moldova Adresa: str. Sciusev 64, MD-2012 Chișinău, RM

Tel.: +373-22-224430, 210986 Fax: +373-22-210986, 233950

[email protected]