Moldova fulfilled 86% of the requirements of visa liberalization
By mid-May 2012, Moldova has fulfilled 86% of the conditions required in the first phase of the implementation of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalization (APVL). According to Visa-free Europe Coalition, the list of laws adopted by Moldova during the first phase is long and foresees implementing such complex and costly measures as combating human trafficking and reforming the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Coalition urges the European Commission and the Council to advance the Republic of Moldova to the second phase of APVL implementation as soon as possible.
“The move would be a fair recognition of the progress made by Chisinau in fulfilling the conditions previously agreed with the European Union,” the Coalition said in a statement, continuing by saying that the complexity of the reforms included in the Action Plan, this result alone spoke volumes about the high commitment of the Moldovan authorities.
The assessment of the progress in terms of reforms registered in Moldova was made by a group of foundations and think tanks, member of the Coalition: the Foreign Policy Association (APE, Chisinau), and the Romanian Center for European Policies (CRPE).
“Moving to the second phase of the APVL would mean that the EU is keeping its promise to progress with each country on visa dialogue according with its own merits. It would be a fair use of the ‘more for more’ principle, which is so vocally advocated by the EU in its relations with the Eastern Partnership countries,” the statement said.
Visa-free Europe Coalition was launched in 2010 on the initiative of the Stefan Batory Foundation. Today more than 40 non-governmental organizations from different parts of Europe are its members. The coalition takes joint actions to speed up the process of EU visa liberalization with the countries of the Eastern Partnership (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and Russia.
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