Expert-Grup

Members of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform discussed at Bruxelles the developments, challenges and priorities of the Republic of Moldova for opening the accession negotiations with the European Union

Wednesday, 5 April 20233382 views
Members of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform discussed at Bruxelles the developments, challenges and priorities of the Republic of Moldova for opening the accession negotiations with the European Union
On 29-31 March this year, Expert-Grup Independent Think-Tank, the Institute for European Policy and Reform (IPRE) and Institutum Virtutes Civilis (IVC) participated in a series of advocacy visits in Bruxelles, carried out under the ‘Civil Society for European Integration’ project, financed by the European Union and co-financed by ‘Friedrich Ebert’ Foundation. The purpose of the meetings with EU officials was to discuss the main developments, challenges and priorities for the implementation of the nine recommendations of the European Commission to launch accession negotiations with the European Union of the Republic of Moldova.

Representatives of the three organisations attended several meetings, including with Luc Pierre Devigne, Deputy Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia, his colleagues from the European External Action Service (EEAS) and with European Commission experts from DG Trade, DG NEAR, DG ECFIN and DG Just. The discussions focused on the progress made by the Republic of Moldova and on the reforms needed to meet the nine recommendations of the European Commission in accordance with the Action Plan approved by the National Commission for European Integration, which must be implemented by the authorities to speed up the accession process. 

Representatives of the delegation were encouraged by the continued support offered by the European Union to the Republic of Moldova in the process of European integration, as well as by the expectations to accelerate the reforms, particularly in the area of justice. Moreover, representatives of civil society organisations met with Siegfried Mureșan, Chair of the European Parliament Delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee, Dragoș Tudorache, European Parliament Committee Rapporteur on Moldova and Ramona Strugariu, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Delegation to the EU- Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee. The three organisations emphasised the importance of continued EU support for the advancement of reforms and the formal opening of accession negotiations by the end of the year, provided that the nine commitments undertaken by the Moldovan authorities are implemented.

During the discussions, they stressed the importance of advancing the European agenda in order to start the accession negotiations by the end of this year, by involving fully and actively the civil society in promoting key reforms related to this process and emphasised the importance of: 

  • advancing reforms in the justice sector, in particular the pre-vetting process and the establishment of the new full membership of the Superior Council of Magistracy. 
  • promoting support programs for the private sector to facilitate the implementation of EU standards at company level and encourage market diversification and investment in higher value-added products; 
  • accelerating the launching of a financing program for energy efficiency investments in the residential and private sector; 
  • promoting reforms related to the reform of the State Labour Inspection, NEA, the social assistance system, advancing the consumer protection agenda and strengthening the capacities of the Inspectorate for the Supervision of Non-Food Products and Consumer Protection;- 
  • advancing the reform of state-owned companies by strengthening the governance and transparency in this sector, including by digitising the information about public property;
  • actively involving the civil society in the process of consultation, monitoring and provision of technical assistance to advance reforms for the alignment with EU standards. 

The advocacy visit was organised on the occasion of the 11th Meeting of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform and was carried out as part of ‘Civil Society for European Integration’ project implemented by the Expert-Grup Independent Think-Tank, as lead partner, in partnership with IPRE, Institutum Virtutes Civilis (IVC) NGO and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.