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'By adopting higher standards in agriculture and environment, we will ensure that we, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, benefit from high quality products on our tables and better quality of air, water and soil' - Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Cristina Gherasimov, on 'Bună seara'

08-02-2025 17:50
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Mircea Surdu: Madam Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, as I know you are basically coming from the airport, you have just arrived from Brussels. So what did you do there?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Since July we have started a new technical stage, the bilateral screening, in which teams of colleagues from the Government and other public institutions go to Brussels in order to explain to the European Commission experts what our national legislation consists of, what our institutions are and how our work is structured in relation to one or another chapter of the acquis.

 

This week we covered two chapters. On Monday and Tuesday we discussed the chapter on financial services, and yesterday we covered the chapter on external relations. This chapter on external relations marks the opening of the third group of chapters, the so-called cluster. So we have started the third cluster of chapters.

 

Mircea Surdu: When we last saw each other, you were so optimistic that we, the Moldovans, will reach our starting point on the European road. That we will get there in due time, as scheduled. Are you still as optimistic as before?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: The year 2030 continues to be our goal of getting ready for accession on internal level. We are doing our best. We have mobilised not only the government, but also civil society, business and academic environment. We are also working with our colleagues in the diaspora, who are helping us to make sure that we will be technically ready for accession by 2030.

 

Mircea Surdu: There is a team working, but, at the end of the day, things depend on what happens in the whole world. The geopolitical situation is changing in some way. Does this hinder our process or, on the contrary, does it favor us?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Indeed, the geopolitical situation is constantly evolving and this is natural. It is not just about this year or next year. We are going through certain changes, which are modifying both the dynamics within Member States and regional dynamics. We have a long way to go before accession. But it is important to focus on what we can do, because the accession process has two components: a political and a technical one. We cannot talk about a political vote of the Member States until we are able to move beyond the technical component.

 

Mircea Surdu: But this happens in the last phase, when the country already has to join the EU?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Our plan is to manage to conclude negotiations by 2028, so that we can join the European Union in 2030. So, in the period between 2028 and 2030, if we succeed with all the technical processes at home, there will follow a vote of signature and ratification of the accession agreement by the Member States. Each EU Member State must agree that it accepts the Republic of Moldova to become the next EU member state.

 

Mircea Surdu: In your opinion, where is the Republic of Moldova lagging behind, and where have we progressed faster than expected?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: I think we have achievements to be proud of. In particular, over the last year, we have managed to do a lot together - not just as a government, but as a country, as a society. We have managed to fulfill those nine recommendations, which were offered to us when we got the candidate status. This step opened the next stage, which was the opening of the actual negotiations through that first intergovernmental conference, which took place in June in Luxembourg. This is the first major achievement for us.

 

We managed, during the spring, to open and close an important stage of the negotiations, which is called explanatory screening. We are now in the middle of the second technical stage - the bilateral screening. We have managed to secure EUR 1.8 billion in a growth plan for our country, so that all citizens can benefit from these transformations that we are going through as a country.

 

At the same time, we have, once a year, that report on the enlargement package, where the European Commission assesses absolutely all the candidate countries on how far they have progressed and how prepared they are. There are two big areas where all the candidate countries are still struggling, because there is a huge amount of European legislation that we have to integrate and adopt in our daily lives. These areas are agriculture and the environment.

 

'By adopting higher standards in agriculture and environment, we will ensure that we, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, benefit from high quality products on our tables and better quality of air, water and soil. All these changes are first of all for the benefit of our citizens.

 

Mircea Surdu: But all these changes cost, because these are devices, ingredients that you have to use. Where do you get this money, because there are not that much in the Republic of Moldova?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: In order to transform as a country and to stimulate economic growth, we need, of course, investment. We cannot talk about economic growth without investment in infrastructure. If we are talking specifically about these two big areas, it's obvious that in order to buy equipment and to set up larger laboratories where we can check the quality of certain products, the quality of water, it will clearly cost us.

 

But, at the end of the day, all these investments are meant for us, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, to benefit from a higher quality of products and a higher standard of living, which all of us can enjoy today and also will be able to enjoy in five years' time, as well as our children and grandchildren's generations.

 

Mircea Surdu: Mrs Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Enlargement, has been in Chișinău. How should we interpret this message? What did this visit mean?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: The new European Commission started working on December 1 and in less than 3 months we have this first visit of the EU Commissioner for Enlargement. It is a clear sign that enlargement is a priority on the European agenda, a priority on the Brussels discussion table and that we have all the support to move forward with the same determination, with the same commitment of being ready for accession.

 

Mircea Surdu: She stated very clearly that the Republic of Moldova should be part of the European Union and shattered the disillusionment of those who had them. Mrs Marta Kos also announced some financial aid: over EUR 300 million (250 million for Chișinău and 60 million for the Transnistrian region). To quote her exactly, she said: 'You are part of the EU, all we have to do now is to formalise this reality'. So is this distribution of money a sign that the districts on the left bank of the Dniester will be going together with us, or that the Europeans want them to go together with us? Do you see certain problems, impediments or not?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Mrs Commissioner came with a very clear message indeed - the Republic of Moldova is already part of the European Union and as a family we help each other in need. The European Union has come with this support package for us as a country - the Republic of Moldova. There is money designated for the right bank and money designated as an offer for the left bank. If this is to be disbursed, then disbursement will only take place in exchange for the conditions which have been mentioned.

 

Also, Mrs Commissioner mentioned that the Republic of Moldova, in its European integration process, will not depend on the course or the evolution of the Transnistrian conflict settlement. There are two parallel tracks, and the European Union is negotiating with the Republic of Moldova, namely with Chișinău. So we are seen as a country of which the Transnistrian region is a part. (...)

 

Mircea Surdu: In this context, informing would matter enormously. Starting from two days ago this program, that we have live now, can also be watched there, so people there will have an alternative source to inform themselves.

 

Cristina Gherasimov: We do see the first steps and I think we should be optimistic, because we are one country and our future is European. I think this is quite clear for many of our citizens in the Transnistrian region, who are already benefiting enormously from the trade with the Member States of the European Union, from traveling to the European Union area on the basis of the Moldovan passport. They have relatives who either go to study or go to work in the European Union, and this process helps us to socialise with those democratic values. My suggestion is that we should be confident and hope that we will see more openness in terms of the democratic processes which we want to have throughout our country.

 

Mircea Surdu: Let's imagine that we move to Autonomous Territorial Unit of Găgăuzia and I would like to ask you if things are changing there and if changes are not too slow there?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: We still have a lot to communicate and explain. We need a more intensive dialog with our citizens in this region, because, unfortunately, we see that Russian propaganda is having an effect, a major impact on the way the people in this region perceive the role and the aid coming from the European Union.

 

If we analyse the last four years, looking at the volume of development assistance directed to Gagauzia, we see that, in fact, it is one of the regions of the Republic of Moldova which has benefited the most when compared to others.

 

Mircea Surdu: (...) Could justice reform be an obstacle in the process of European integration? I know it is slowing down the process. There are some progresses, but it is very slow. What are our European partners saying?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Justice is a fundamental value on which the European Union is based. That is why justice is one of the basic pillars to open accession negotiations and the last to close them. In the last 3-4 years, a lot has been done to reform the justice system, but it is a very complex and long-term process, and we are now somewhere in the middle of the tunnel. Very many of us do not see the light at the end of this tunnel and are becoming pessimistic about completing the reform.

 

Mircea Surdu: Do you, personally, see the light?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: I see what we have achieved, but also the resistance to the reforms we are trying to implement. This shows that what we are doing is right and useful. I think that, unprecedentedly, we can say that, due to these first steps that we have already taken, we no longer see the captured state that we were faced with 5, 6 or 7 years ago. I am sure that the progress made so far will enable us not to go back to the previous situation.

 

We have seen a similar cleaning up of the justice system in other countries, where it took a very long time. For instance, if we take the case of Albania, a lot of people have lost hope that this system can be cleaned up. However, we can already see that the process has been completed and is already bringing the first results.

 

It is extremely important to persevere, to be determined, and to understand that it is in our interest, in the interest of our citizens, to succeed with this extremely complicated reform. (...)

 

Mircea Surdu: You have talked about European integration, which has a technical component and there we are going quite well or we are right on schedule. But what can happen with the political side, because the Republic of Moldova is about to have elections? Can the situation in Parliament change our European option or not?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: It is important that we succeed in securing a pro-European power, no matter what it looks like, but one that is equally committed to the reforms we have started. Reforms are complex and long-lasting, and continuity is needed for them to work.

 

We cannot predict what the political constellation will be in the Member States of the European Union in 2028, 2029, 2030. That is why, now, we need to focus on what we can do at home: to work together as a society, to understand that we need continuity and to work for that continuity in the reform process that we have engaged in.

 

Mircea Surdu: When I asked this question, I also had a thought in the back of my mind: the situation in Georgia - a country that seemed to be in the same step with us, even more advanced, and here is its sudden regression, unfortunately. 

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Indeed, democracy is a process, not a destination. Therefore, we have to fight for democratic values every day. It is very sad what the citizens of this country, who are deeply pro-European, are going through. This is one more example that we must be vigilant and defend our democracy at all times, not just on polling day or at certain stages. It is a daily struggle through which we strengthen our resilience and our attachment to democratic values.

 

If we look to the rest of the world, we have to be realistic - there is no other system better than the European Union. We are very lucky, even luckier than our colleagues in Georgia, because we have a direct border with the European Union, which is a great advantage for us.

 

Respectively, we have a huge responsibility that in the coming years, regardless of who will be in government, to continue the European course, so that we take advantage of this window of opportunity, one that comes very, very rarely in the history of Europe. (...)

 

Mircea Surdu: The Polish Presidency of the EU Council - what are the expectations of the Republic of Moldova from this presidency?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Poland is our real friend and ally for our ambitions and our desire to be part of the European Union. For the next five months, which are left of its mandate, we have discussed with our counterparts in Warsaw about the ways in which we could speed up certain processes. We are already talking in concrete terms about the possibility of opening the first group of chapters by organising a second intergovernmental conference. We hope very much that we will also advance the discussions on the following chapters - chapter six, chapter two - in order to be able to open as many as possible. (...)

 

Mircea Surdu: Could Moldovan farmers slow down the integration process, given that they are more in protests than working in the fields? Unfortunately, they may also have problems, because there are certain complaints there. How do we solve them?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Our farmers are already very competitive on the European market. We have managed to significantly increase our exports of certain categories of agricultural products to the EU market. A large part of this success is due to the Association Agreement and, of course, this transition period offered by the European Union, through the export quota liberalisation for those seven agricultural products.

 

Today, we are one of the top ten exporters of apples on the European Union market. Do you remember where we mainly exported apples until a few years ago? This success is entirely thanks to the hard work and perseverance of our farmers.

 

It is important to remember that farmers have certain guarantees within the European Union. They are privileged and have access to certain benefits that, at the moment, the Republic of Moldova cannot afford to offer our farmers. Of course, there are also some adjustments to come in terms of technical, marketing and quality standards, which some of us will have to implement more than others.

 

All these changes are being made in order to improve the quality of the products on our and our children's tables. They are not being done because we have been asked to. Quality standards in agriculture and the environment are some of the highest in the European Union and we want to offer the same standards at home in the Republic of Moldova. 

 

Mircea Surdu: Does the same applies to the economy? We are going into a tough competition, having an economy that is somewhat gasping for some reasons - we have war, we have few investors. Nobody wants to risk investing in a country that is neighboring a country at war.

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Our entrepreneurs are already benefiting greatly from the European single market. Products made in the Republic of Moldova have an enormous potential. Everything depends on the work and efforts we are going to make. The fact that more than 60% of our exports reach the European Union market already speaks not only of the existence of potential, but also of the similar quality as of European products. So we are largely as competitive as exporters, entrepreneurs and producers from other EU Member States.

 

Membership does indeed bring new standards and rules, but these are intended to strengthen the economic capacity of the whole economic bloc that is called the European Union. We often do not perceive this, but as part of the European Union, we will have access not only to the European single market, but also to markets around the world, with conditions already negotiated by the EU, which is a bloc with a much larger and more influential negotiating capacity than the Republic of Moldova.

 

Mircea Surdu: The National Accession Program of the Republic of Moldova to the EU - what is this document and what are the main objectives?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: The National Accession Plan is our roadmap as a country, which defines all the transformations we are about to go through, so that we are ready to assume the same responsibilities as any current EU member state. It is a plan that outlines very clearly what are the measures that we need to achieve over the next five years, which institutions are responsible for carrying out these measures and how we intend to implement them.

 

We have been holding plenary public consultations over the last two weeks. We have also discussed this National Accession Plan in Parliament to ensure that the process is as transparent and inclusive as possible.

 

This National Accession Plan does not belong to a political party or a government - it is a country Plan and we need to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to express their opinion and suggestions.

 

Mircea Surdu: Youth and diaspora - how do you plan to involve them more intensively in this process?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Young people are very well informed about the benefits of the European Union. I was pleasantly surprised by the discussions I have had already with several groups of young people, because they understand that the European Union is their and our future as a country. I am very confident and optimistic that especially with their help, we will manage to integrate faster.

 

It is very important to convince them, the young people in particular, to give the Republic of Moldova a chance by choosing to build a professional career here instead of leaving their homeland.

 

Mircea Surdu: It's hard to convince them, because European countries are much more attractive at the moment.

 

Cristina Gherasimov: It's a phenomenon that almost all the countries that have joined a union which offers higher standards and more opportunities for citizens have gone through. But we have not seen countries depopulated, countries that had no more citizens. It is a lie which Russian propaganda is trying to promote, that all Moldovan people will emigrate to the European Union.

 

We already have so many citizens who have chosen the European Union as their home. However, it is important to consider what happens after accession. In many countries, such as Poland or the Baltic states, people are returning home because living standards have increased. Salaries have become much more competitive, pensions are at the same level as in any other Member State of the European Union, and this gives them the opportunity to understand that they can choose a future in their own country.

 

Mircea Surdu: The same thing is happening in Romania. A lot of Romanians come back from Spain, because they realised that the salaries are more or less similar and they prefer to live at home, in Romania.

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Exactly. If we look at the speed of economic growth in the Member States that joined in 2004 and in 2007, we see that these countries are providing much more economic opportunities for their citizens at home. And we will have the same path.

 

Very many of us will want to see what the European Union is, but we will work to raise living standards in the Republic of Moldova to the same level as in other European countries, so that every Moldovan man and woman can choose to live here at home.

 

Mircea Surdu: Please tell us more about the immediate next steps that you and the Bureau that you head are taking.

 

Cristina Gherasimov: In the next few months, we will be working on the process of drafting and completing the first negotiating positions for the first cluster, which is about Fundamenals. Two, we will finalise the National Accession Plan. We are also going to conclude the discussions and the adoption of the economic growth plan with our colleagues in the government and with the civil society through consultations.

 

In the same time, we are going to strengthen our administrative capacities by working more, inclusively, with the diaspora, which is already providing us with help and expertise, with civil society and the business environment. We will continue to communicate as much as possible about what we intend to do, to make sure that everyone has the same understanding and that we take on these commitments together, as a country and as a society.

 

 

Interview from 6.2.2025

Video: 'Bună Seara' with  Mircea Surdu, Moldova 1

 

 

 

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February 2024

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