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‘We must be united in our efforts to prepare the country for EU membership and to anchor Moldova in that space of peace, security and prosperity’ - Deputy Prime Minister Cristina Gherasimov, in an interview for ‘Moldova 1’

27-12-2024 15:05
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Moldova 1: Mrs. Gherasimov, I would like to ask you, first of all, how do you feel at the end of this year, if we are to refer to all the achievements of this year? Do you feel fulfilled in this respect?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Fulfilled is a good word. At the same time, I feel a great responsibility for what's to come, because 2025 will be a year in which we can achieve even more. But it all depends on us.

 

Moldova 1: How do you see the current pace of talks with the European Union? And if, taking into account these discussions, is the 2030 deadline a realistic one to prepare the Republic of Moldova for full membership?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: We, today, can be proud of all this year's achievements. We have progressed at a much faster speed than other candidate countries and, from the discussions with the European Commission, we are a model state presented to other candidate countries. This gives us confidence that we, as a country, can succeed when we have good planning and clearly defined goals.

 

2030 is an achievable and feasible year for our country to be ready for EU membership. It will not be a simple process. It is a complex transformation that we have to go through as a society, as an economy and as people. It depends only on us whether, in the next 5 years, we manage to be ready.

 

Moldova 1: Let's also talk about the obstacles that the Republic of Moldova is facing in its European integration process. We cannot fail to mention here the Russian Federation, which has always seen enlargement as a direct threat to its influence. In this respect, in the context of the elections that await us next year, could the Russian Federation put certain obstacles in the way of our process of European integration?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: This year has indeed been a challenging one, which was not only specific to 2024 and, unfortunately, will not end at the end of this year. We expect 2025 will also be one with many challenges. These stem from the fact that the Russian Federation does not respect the independence of our country, does not respect the sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova and does not respect the territorial integrity of our state.

 

We observe the application of many instruments designed to derail our European course. There is a lot of misinformation in the public space and a hybrid war, which, unfortunately, is supported by certain political actors in our country, thus helping the interests of the Russian Federation to catch on in the Republic of Moldova. So we can also expect certain challenges in 2025. However, we need to be aware of them and know how to react in order to mitigate the risks they bring. On the other hand, we also have countries supporting us.

 

Moldova 1: From which country does the biggest support come and how does it help us in practical terms?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: We are a very lucky country, because we have the support of all EU member states. Certainly, Romania is our faithful friend who is at our side in our European path, offering us political support and expertise, but we also have many other countries supporting us: France, Germany, as well as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. On the basis of their own experiences, these countries are guiding us on how we can speed up certain dossiers or better understand some aspects of the integration process we are about to go through.

 

This year, we have managed to develop very good cooperation and friendship with the candidate countries in the Western Balkans: Albania, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro. We are also in close contact with our friends in Ukraine, with whom we frequently discuss how they are going through the same processes that we are going through these months.

 

Moldova 1: Poland will take over the presidency of the European Union on 1 January. Could we, under the Polish presidency, open the negotiating chapters more quickly?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Just last week, when I was in Brussels, I had very nice discussions with Mrs. Agnieszka Bartol, the permanent representative of Poland - the country that is going to take over the Council Presidency for the first six months of next year.

 

For Poland, the enlargement of the European Union is a priority, both on their agenda as a country and on the agenda of the Council of the European Union. I would like to mention that we have Poland's full support to move forward in our integration process. We discussed the exact steps we need to take during the first months of the Polish presidency. They are very technical, but essential steps to be able to open negotiations on the first group of chapters of Cluster 1 ‘Fundamentals’.

 

Moldova 1: In your opinion, are there currently areas in the Republic of Moldova that need more technical or financial support from the European Union?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: There is always space for more support because together with colleagues from various state institutions, we go through new chapters every month. Currently, we are in the middle of preparations for the second part of the Cluster 2 chapters, which are aimed at the internal market. We are working with EU Member States that can provide us with the expertise that we do not have at home, in order to better understand how the implementation of European legislation will affect us in one sector or another and also to be as well prepared as possible in the process of negotiations. So, expertise is needed in all areas where we need additional help.

 

When we move on to the next clusters - 3, 4, 5 and 6 - we will also ask for the support of Member States to better understand specific standards, such as, for example, those relating to the environment in the European Union area. This support will help us to assess the impact of the application of these standards in our country, how to adapt and adjust policies so that we maintain our competitiveness, but also so that we can provide our citizens more quickly with a better standard of living and a higher quality of, for example, drinking water or environmental protection.

 

We are always identifying new areas where we need help, but our partners are more than willing to support us along the way.

 

Moldova 1: In addition to the technical expertise, the European Union is also providing financial support for the recently announced EU economic growth plan. Moreover, MEP Siegfried Mureșan announced that he will propose to increase the percentage of non-reimbursable funds for these 1.8 billion packages. How do you see this initiative, i.e. where will this money go and, obviously, when can we expect it?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: Indeed, after the announcement of the Economic Growth Plan by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, here in Chișinău in October, we are in the process of defining both the reform agenda, which is a component of the growth plan, and the areas where we want to invest this money. The aim is to be able to strengthen our economy, to double our economy by creating new jobs, supporting family businesses, modernising infrastructure and so on. It is a process we are going through now and it is a long process. For the countries of the Western Balkans, for example, this process took a long time. Our expectation is that for the Republic of Moldova it will be completed in the next few months. As soon as this growth plan is adopted, we will be able to talk about starting disbursements.  

 

Certainly, Mr. Siegfried Mureșan's initiative is one that would be to our advantage, namely through a higher initial disbursement. We hope that it will be supported not only by the European Parliament but also by the Member States. However, it is important that we are ready to be able to absorb these funds.

 

Our economy has been significantly affected by multiple crises and citizens are feeling the economic burden. The sooner these funds come into the country, the sooner we will be able to invest them in our needs. We hope that these investments will bring not only long-term economic advantages and benefits, but also immediate effects for citizens.

 

Moldova 1: But we often face this problem: people still do not see the benefits of membership. With the opening of negotiating chapters, could citizens already feel those benefits?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: When we talk about opening or closing chapters, we are talking about very technical steps, which are not reflected in everyday life. It is important to understand that our process of integration into the European Union is a process of transformation of the country. These are complex transformations that take time. I am thinking, for example, of justice reform or preparing economic sectors to be sufficiently competitive when we join the EU.

 

European integration is not a sprint, but a marathon, and we must be prepared for this path.

 

Moldova 1: How do we make people understand this, given that some people expect immediate changes?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: I think it is important to analyse the transformations that have taken place in the EU Member States that joined the EU in 2004, 2007 and already Croatia, which joined 10 years ago. We do not see changes overnight immediately after accession. But if you look at what countries like Poland, Slovakia, Estonia or Romania and Bulgaria looked like 20 years ago in 2007, and compare them with today, you see radical transformations that benefit the citizen: whether they are an entrepreneur, a student or a pensioner. We are talking about much more competitive salaries, much higher pensions, much more diverse economic opportunities.

 

So our entrepreneurs will no longer be limited to a market of 2.5 million consumers, but will have access to a free market of almost 450 million consumers. Can you imagine what such a market means for our entrepreneurs? We will be able to develop services and produce goods for the world's largest market. We will be able to realise these benefits when we are already part of the Single Market.

 

Now it is important to prepare for accession. And for that we need to invest in our own competitiveness, to invest in being ready for the moment of accession.

 

Moldova 1: I also want to discuss a topical issue. Given that the Republic of Moldova is in a state of emergency due to the uncertain energy situation, could the European Union help us in the event of a more serious energy crisis?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: We appealed to all international partners of our country, to all our friends. We have explained the scenarios and the risks that we could potentially face from 1 January. I want to tell you that all our friends and partners are reflecting on different means and possibilities to help us. We are sure that we will be supported in the more difficult times, if they come, for our country. This is not the first time we have been supported.

 

If we think back to the time of the pandemic, the EU member states were the first to jump to our aid, offering us batches of vaccine. Remember the energy crisis in the autumn and winter of 2022-2023, when we were blackmailed. We were able to stand by our citizens thanks to the support of the Member States, which helped us to provide the highest compensation that the government has ever been able to offer to citizens.

 

Whenever we have faced crisis situations, our European and development partners have stood by us. We can be confident that even in this difficult time for our citizens we will have the backing and support of our partners.

(...)

 

Moldova 1: And finally, I would like to make an exercise of imagination. How do you see the future of our European integration path in the next 5 years?

 

Cristina Gherasimov: I would like to respond by, let's say, summarising the major achievements of 2024 for the Republic of Moldova. First of all, the fact that we passed the referendum and that today we had this strategic objective included in the Constitution, very clearly outlines our priority, number zero for the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova, which says that the future of our country is in the European Union.

 

Secondly, this year we have de facto managed to open negotiations with the European Union. In June, we had the first intergovernmental conference, that solemn moment when the 27 EU Member States opened negotiations with our country. And, thirdly, this year the largest financial support package for our country was announced, totalling EUR 1.8 billion. These funds will be disbursed over the coming years to help us strengthen and sustain our national economy.

 

If you had asked me 3-4 years ago, I would have said that these realisations would have been practically impossible. But here we are, every day, proving that the impossible is possible for our country. It is achievable when we are united, when we work together as a team and when we believe in the efforts we make every day.

 

As for our vision for the next five years, concerning the European integration of the Republic of Moldova, the tasks are very clear: we have to work and work with joint efforts. We must be united in the endeavour to prepare the country for EU membership and to anchor the Republic of Moldova in that area of peace, security and prosperity. Every one of our citizens wants to see Moldova put in safe harbour. And when we speak in unison, with one voice, when we have that consensus and clear political will to work as a team, we will succeed. The next five years are about extraordinary work that we all have to do together.

 

 

Interview from 25.12.2024, conducted by Lucia Vieru, Moldova 1

The video can be accessed here

 

 

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December 2023

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