Geo-politics in today’s Romania

Bucharest - Chisinau, a special bi-lateral relationship

Corina Cristea, 03.12.2021, 02:00

Neighbouring Republic of
Moldova is a former Soviet republic, with a predominantly-Romanian-speaking
population. The Republic of Moldova gained its independence 30 years ago.
Notwithstanding, Moldova is still searching for a better future for its
citizens. The number of its citizens is dwindling by the year; Moldovans have
been opting for leaving the country to relocate to Western Europe, in the hopes
they will find a better live there. It is the dismal aftermath of the policy decision-makers
in Chisinau have been implementing for a number of years. Such a policy caused
a great number of problems, mostly economic. However, a fresh breath of hope
for the better has been recently provided by Maia Sandu’s gaining accession to power.
She is a reformist, pro-European president, dead set on implementing a
thoroughgoing series of modern reforms for the state and its institutions. And
the chances to achieve that are all the greater as the recently-instated
government in Chisinau is literally fine-tuned in its bid to work with the president.
The parliament, for its part, is also dominated by a majority that also offers
its backing for Maia Sandu’s reformist endeavour. And at that, the high-ranking
authorities in Bucharest have been quick to offer their unconditional support to
the Republic of Moldova. Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu has recently
been a guest on a Romanian state-run TV program. While on the show, Minister Aurescu
recalled that on July 23rd this year, he was the first EU high-ranking
official to have been on a visit to Chisinau, on the sidelines of Maia Sandu’s
winning the early parliamentary election. Aurescu also stated he held talks
with officials on the Republic of Moldova for the bi-lateral cooperation to be
relaunched. Foreign Affairs Minister Aurescu also stated, QUOTE, All we have done
this year, and let me remind you that last year, the first head of state to
have visited the Republic of Moldova when Maia Sandu won the election was Romania’s
president Klaus Iohannis, all that we did this year was to try, immediately after
the snap election that brought to power the new pro-reform, pro-European
majority, to support the reformist efforts, UNQUOTE.

We can say we have reached a point
where the priorities of the bi-lateral agenda can no longer be overlooked and
we have noticed there already has been a mutual interest on the part of the
elites, and not only on the part of citizens, as in effect, for a long time citizens
somehow had been ahead of the authorities, as for various reasons the latter failed
to cooperate and were unable to materialize all those tendencies populations living
on both banks of Prut river have always had. It is the assessment provided by former
presidential adviser in Chisinau, Vlad Turcanu, in a Radio Romania program.

Vlad Turcanu:

The authorities
in Chisinau have initiated, as of this autumn, once with the snap election on July
11 and once a new government was instated, sweeping reforms in all the fields of
activity, practically, and they are aware that, without the contribution of such
friend states as Romania, that is not going to be easy at all. Take, for
instance, the gas crisis, about which we can say it has already ended, even
though we can still speak about lingering setback issues. But in those days of uncertainty,
a great many things mattered, for the atmosphere in Chisinau and for the safety
of the political endeavour in Chisinau, like the support signals sent from
Bucharest and other European capital cities. And, from my point of view, it is
no mean feat to be aware of the fact that, in the event of a force majeure circumstance,
you can receive natural gas from Romania through a gas line, built with the
help of Romania, whose contribution to that was significant. In the Republic of
Moldova, there are many vulnerabilities, in the energy system, in the IT or the security systems, which Republic of Moldova’s foes will never
cease to capitalize on. Such categories of risk, which for long have been ignored,
will resurface, and the expertise Romania holds in those as well as in other
fields will be extremely useful for the transformations we have initiated here,
in the Republic of Moldova.

Republic of Moldova’s pro-European
government has been instated with a wide majority of parliamentary votes in favour,
63 in 101. The government will have to prove it is capable of
implementing the reforms it pledged it would carry through, Vlad Turcanu also
said. The former presidential adviser went on to say that, as Republic of Moldova
emerges out of the isolation that has been introduced in recent years, several projects
are beginning to take shape, a clear example for the Republic of Moldova moving
in the European direction and being also set to solve all those problems that
have accrued. And at that, Romania’s help is very important.

Vlad Turcanu:

The lines
of cooperation are quite a few. Romania’s and Republic of Moldova’s Foreign
Affairs Ministers have signed a roadmap on the priority cooperation areas, the
education ministers in turn signed an agreement on the mutual recognition of diplomas,
certificates and scientific titles. But the most important element on the infrastructure
agenda is Republic of Moldova’ s being reconnected to the EU electricity
system. Because it is here that one of the vulnerabilities lies, that I was speaking
about. The Republic of Moldova has been contracting electric energy from the
Cuciurgan Power Plant, built on the left bank of River Dniester on the territory
of the unrecognized Dniester Republic. And that, for Republic of Moldova, has
been a major setback all the time, because it had to be extremely careful with
its relationship with the Russian federation, lest they find themselves cut off
from the power grid, completely.

Republic
of Moldova’s roadmap is extremely specific. It focuses on each and every field
of interest for the bilateral relation. The document was signed as part of Maia
Sandu’s recent visit to Bucharest this year, against the backdrop of the
three-decade anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. The document seeks
to implement everything required for meeting a series of major set targets for
the following period. Such targets pertain to the stimulation of Republic of Moldova’s
European Integration and to a deeper interconnection of Republic of Moldova’s with
European Union area. Also, the economic and social development will be
stimulated, so that Moldovan citizens can benefit from truly European standards
with respect to everything related to life, society, administration and the
justice system. And, last but not the least, the document stipulates the mutual
desire to strengthen the two states’ common provinces of language, culture and
history.

(Translation by Eugen Nasta)