Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-10-21-Speech-4-010"
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".
Mr President, when looking at EU-Moldova relations, I believe it is uncontroversial that we have achieved a lot of progress in record time, but domestically the country still faces many challenges.
In the same spirit, we will carry on our busy schedule of political contacts and technical exchanges. In a few days, I will meet with Prime Minister Filat, in Luxembourg. In November, the EU-Moldova trade sub-committee will examine Moldova’s response to the Commission’s key recommendations in view of preparing negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free trade area.
Additionally, we have engaged with Moldova in a dedicated Dialogue on Human Rights and in an energy dialogue, and are negotiating an aviation services agreement. We have actively followed up on the visa dialogue launched in June. Next Monday, drawing on the outcome of the fact-finding missions conducted in September by independent experts, the Foreign Affairs Council is expected to release conclusions that should address this issue.
The referendum of 5 September was meant to resolve the political deadlock by changing the rules for electing the President. It failed. That is regrettable. However, whether the referendum would comply with democratic standards was also an important question. Crucially, its effective compliance has been confirmed by the international observers. This is an encouraging sign.
The elections of 28 November are equally important for the consolidation of democracy in the country. We will continue sending firm messages in that respect to all stakeholders. Thereafter, all political forces will have to work together, both to elect a President and to choose a government capable of taking the country through a critical reform path.
At the same time, we will sustain our unwavering support to the structural reforms conducted by the Moldovan Government. Let me highlight a few important aspects.
The European Union is not only by far the largest donor to Moldova, but in March also succeeded in mobilising over forty donors to support Moldova’s reforms. They pledged an impressive EUR 1.9 billion for the years 2010-2013, including our own EUR 550 million commitment.
Over the last months, we have provided timely responses to a number of the government's specific needs: providing high-level policy advice to ministers; supporting democratisation efforts in rule-of-law related areas; helping organise the electoral consultations; addressing emergency needs after last summer’s floods; and improving possibilities for Moldovan wine exports.
Alongside the Moldovan government, we have actively engaged with the population living in the Transnistrian region via small-scale projects, mostly in the social area. Next year, we will start implementing the Comprehensive Institution-Building programme under the Eastern Partnership.
That programme will help Moldova prepare for, and implement, the Association Agreement that we are currently negotiating. The latest round of negotiations in Chisinau on 13 and 14 October demonstrated yet again that these negotiations are progressing at a very good speed.
Our assistance has also taken the form of direct transfers to the Moldovan budget. Since the last quarter of 2009, EUR 37 million has been disbursed as sectoral budget support, with an additional EUR 15 million to come soon. Out of this, about EUR 8.5 million was directly allocated to help the poorest strata of the population. Now that President Buzek has signed the relevant legislative decision, we expect to disburse soon the EUR 40 million of the first tranche of macro-financial assistance."@en1
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