Romanian Europarl deputy urges soonest EU-Moldova association
CHISINAU. March 26 (Interfax) - The EU-Moldova Cooperation Committee of the European Parliament believes that the signing of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement can be accelerated, said Romanian deputy of the European Parliament Monica Macovei.
She said they had agreed that the European Union should conclude the Association Agreement with Moldova as soon as possible, without waiting for the end of technical formalities. The statement was made at a press conference on Wednesday, after the 18th session of the EU-Moldova Cooperation Committee in Chisinau.
The sides discussed political events and reforms in Moldova, EU-Moldova cooperation, implementation of the recommendations suggested at the previous session and the degree of Moldova's preparedness to strike an association deal with the EU, Macovei said.
In her opinion, the European Union should not wait until the EU-Moldova Association Agreement is translated into all official languages of the European Union but sign it as soon as possible and do the translations later.
Macovei recalled the Ukrainian events and said that Russian pressure became tangible before signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement rather than before that document was initialed and suggested that the same might happen in Moldova. She said the time left before the signing ceremony should be cut and that it could be done in June or even earlier.
She believes that the Association Agreement will give Moldova a chance for political rapprochement with Europe and bring Moldova inside the EU security zone.
The shorter the dangerous period is, the better, Macovei said. She noted that a dialogue with Russia should be maintained and one had to understand at the moment of political crisis that relations with Russia were not dismantled in one's growing closer with Europe. In her words, the EU should propose ways to resolve the crisis, circumvent bureaucracy and accelerate the signing of the agreement with Moldova.
Macovei emphasized that the European Union must give a European prospect to Moldova, while Moldova must support the policy of European reforms.
Integration with the EU is possible by application; as a rule, this process takes several years but it may be more rapid in a crisis and Moldova may become an EU member in the case that it carries on the reforms, which cannot be avoided because of the political crisis, Macovei said.
The EU chiefs of state unanimously decided on March 21 to sign the Association Agreement with Moldova before the end of June. The Moldovan administration supported that proposal, while the opposition raised strong objections.