Association agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova European Implementation Assessment (update) STUDY EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Editor: Anna Zygierewicz Ex-Post Evaluation Unit PE 642.834 – May 2020 EN Association agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova European Implementation Assessment (update) In November 2019, the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) requested to draw up an own-initiative report on the implementation of the EU association agreement with Moldova (2019/2201(INI)). Dragoş Tudorache (Renew Europe, Romania) was appointed rapporteur. This European implementation assessment (EIA) is an update to the EIA on the association agreements between EU and Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine prepared in July 2018 to assist the AFET committee in its scrutiny work. After AFET drafted three implementation reports, one for each of the three countries, the European Parliament adopted resolutions on the EU's association agreements with Georgia (2017/2282(INI)) and Moldova (2017/2281(INI)) in November 2018, and with Ukraine (2017/2283(INI)) in December 2018. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service AUTHORS Part I: The in-house opening analysis was written by Dr Anna Zygierewicz from the Ex-Post Evaluation Unit, EPRS. To contact the author, please email: [email protected] Part II: The analysis of the implementation of the Association Agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova was written by Kamil Całus from the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), Warsaw, Poland. ADMINISTRATORS RESPONSIBLE Anna Zygierewicz, Ex-Post Evaluation Unit, EPRS. To contact the publisher, please e-mail [email protected] LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN Manuscript completed in April 2020. DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT This document is prepared for, and addressed to, the Members and staff of the European Parliament as background material to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent an official position of the Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. Brussels © European Union, 2020. PE 642.834 ISBN: 978-92-846-6541-9 DOI: 10.2861/345357 CAT: QA-04-20-227-EN-N [email protected] http://www.eprs.ep.parl.union.eu (intranet) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank (internet) http://epthinktank.eu (blog) EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Executive summary This European Implementation Assessment (EIA) was prepared by the Ex-Post Evaluation Unit (EVAL) within the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), to accompany the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) in their scrutiny work in the form of an own-initiative report on the implementation of the EU's association agreement with Moldova (2019/2201(INI)). Furthermore, this EIA is an update to the June 2018 EPRS report on Association agreements between the EU and Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. European Implementation Assessment. It presents the progress in the implementation of the association agreements from the time covered by the previous report to the present moment. This EIA consists of two parts: Part I, in-house opening analysis, written by Dr Anna Zygierewicz from the Ex-Post Evaluation Unit (EVAL) of the EPRS; Part II, an externally prepared briefing paper, written by Kamil Całus from the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), Warsaw, Poland. Part I was prepared on the basis of desk research and it presents the main findings and recommendations deriving from the high-level EU meetings and documents on the implementation of the association agreement (AA) between the EU and Moldova. The analysis also presents the progress in Moldovans' perception of the EU and their country's participation in selected EU programmes. The analysis has been enriched with information on: joint actions undertaken by Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine; and comparative statistics for the three countries. Part II investigates the overall outcome of the implementation of the EU-Moldova association agreement. It focuses on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the reforms that have been implemented in Moldova as part of the agreement. It also examines whether and how the implementation of reforms has influenced the current situation in the country in the following fields: rule of law, democracy, good governance, freedoms and the economic situation (including trade relations). Part II furthermore analyses the influence that the AA's implementation has had in the Transnistria region. Last but not least, it makes recommendations on how to improve the AA's implementation. Acknowledgements The in-house opening analysis was peer-reviewed internally by EPRS colleagues. The author would like to thank them for their valuable feedback and recommendations. The author would also like to thank the EPRS colleagues for their help with administrative matters. II Association agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova List of frequently used abbreviations and acronyms (EU) AA (EU) association agreement CDSA comprehensive democracy support approach Commission European Commission CSP civil society platform DCFTA deep and comprehensive free trade area DG Directorate-General EC European Commission EEAS European External Action Service EaP Eastern Partnership EHEA European higher education area EIB European Investment Bank ENP European Neighbourhood Policy EP European Parliament EU European Union HE higher education HEI higher education institution HR/VP High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission IEA International Energy Agency IMF International Monetary Fund JMD Jean Monnet Dialogue for Peace and Democracy MFA macro-financial assistance MFF multiannual financial framework Moldova Republic of Moldova OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OSCE/ODIHR Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe PAC parliamentary association committee Parliament European Parliament Q (1 2019) quarter of the year (first quarter of 2019) SDG sustainable development goal SME small and medium-sized enterprise UNDP United Nations Development Programme III EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Table of Contents PART I. IN-HOUSE OPENING ANALYSIS______________________________________________ 1 1. Introduction ________________________________________________________________ 1 2. Moldova in selected regional comparative statistics _________________________________ 3 3.Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the EU association agreement with Moldova4 3.1. Introduction to monitoring and evaluation 4 3.2. Implementation of the EU-Moldova AA according to the latest EU documents 5 4. Situation in Moldova according to selected reports _________________________________ 8 5. Latest parliamentary initiatives ________________________________________________ 10 5.1. Latest resolutions of the European Parliament 10 5.2. The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly 11 5.3. Jean Monnet Dialogue of the European Parliament 11 5.4. Georgia, M oldova and Ukraine Inter-Parliamentary Assembly 11 6. The Eastern Partnership and the 20 Deliverables for 2020 ___________________________ 13 6.1. Introduction to the Eastern Partnership 13 6.2. Future of the Eastern Partnership 13 6.3. The 20 deliverables for 2020 15 7. Moldova's participation in selected EU programmes and initiatives____________________ 16 7.1. Erasmus+ programme for higher education 16 7.2. EU4Business 17 7.3. EU4 Energy 17 7.4. EaP transport panel and TEN-T indicative action plan 19 8. Progress in the perception of the EU in Moldova___________________________________ 21 9. Conclusions ________________________________________________________________ 23 10. Selected references_________________________________________________________ 24 IV Association agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova PART II: EXTERNALLY PREPARED BRIEFING PAPER ____________________________________ 27 1. Methodology ______________________________________________________________ 35 2. The outcome of the implementation of key reforms ________________________________ 36 2.1. Rule of law, democratic standar ds and good governance 36 2.1.1. The justice system ____________________________________________________________________ 36 2.1.2. Anti-corruption ______________________________________________________________________ 39 2.1.3. Party financing ______________________________________________________________________ 41 2.1.4. Local administration (decentralisation) ____________________________________________________ 42 2.1.5. Reform of the public administration ______________________________________________________ 44 2.1.6. The electoral system __________________________________________________________________ 44 2.1.7. Freedom of media____________________________________________________________________ 45 2.1.8. Civil society _________________________________________________________________________ 48 2.1.9. Freedom of movement (visa-free regime) __________________________________________________ 49 2.2. Human rights and fundamental freedoms 49 2.2.1. Freedom of assembly _________________________________________________________________ 50 2.2.2. Situation of the LGBT community ________________________________________________________