Moldova

NATO's PA support strengthening democratic institutions in Moldova

November 03, 2009

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Parliament Speaker and acting President Mihai Ghimpu has met a delegation of the Sub-committee on Democratic Governance of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, led by a special rapporteur of the subcommittee Marc Angel, the parliament's mass media relations department has said.

The NATO delegation is on a fact-collecting visit to Chisinau to give the final touches to a special draft report, Moldova: Domestic Challenges, Prospects of Euro-Atlantic Integration.

Welcoming the NATO delegation to Chisinau, Mihai Ghimpu stressed that the principal objective of Moldova's domestic and foreign policy is to integrate into the European Union, which meets the will of most Moldovan citizens. After the Alliance for European Integration came to power, an opening in the Moldova-EU relation took place, the president said. The proof is that negotiations on the signing of an association agreement started in October 2009. In continuation, Moldova will initiate talks on the liberalisation of the visa regime, as well as a free trade agreement.

Referring to the European integration aspirations, Mihai Ghimpu emphasized the importance of relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which contributes to the consolidation of the democratic institutions in Moldova.

As for domestic policy, the main task of the present government is to overcome the economic crisis and settle social problems, the president said.

Touching upon prospects for peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, Mihai Ghimpu reiterated the Moldovan leadership's position on the need to withdraw the Russian troops and weaponry from the left bank of the Dniestre and resume negotiations in the 5+2 format.

This position was backed by the members of the NATO PA's delegation, who spoke in favour of Moldova's territorial integrity. Also, the representatives of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly expressed every support for the Moldovan leadership's efforts to achieve European integration and promote democratic and economic reforms.

Also today, the delegation of the NATO PA's subcommittee is to meet members of the parliamentary commission for national security, defence and public order, commission for foreign policy and European integration, commission for human rights and interethnic relations.

The special report, Moldova: Domestic Challenges, Prospects of Euro-Atlantic Integration, is to be presented at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's autumn session for approval, due in Edinburgh, the UK, on 13-17 November 2009. The draft considers the political events which took place in Moldova after the 5 April and 29 July parliamentary polls, assesses the current level of Moldova-NATO-EU relations, as well as the prospects of European integration and Transnistrian conflict settlement.

Moldova has been an associate member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly since 1994.

Moldpres, Moldova

Moldova

Transnistrian conflict

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