Cenusa, D. (2015) “The EU risks alienating the Moldovan population if it fails to take a tougher line with the country’s pro-European parties“, LSE EUROPP, 05 March.
The EU signed an association agreement with Moldova in 2014. Denis Cenusa writes on the EU’s relations with the country since 2009, when a pro-European alliance of parties first came to power. He argues that the failure of these parties to successfully address the issue of corruption is having a damaging effect on the European integration movement within Moldova, and that the EU should more readily apply conditionality to encourage the government to pursue necessary reforms.
The EU has attempted to transform Moldova through partnerships with pro-European political parties. This approach, however, has largely failed. Today, European officials need to calibrate their trust in so called ‘pro-European’ governments in relation to these actors’ deeds and actions on the ground. Failure to do so could seriously damage not only the quality and sustainability of reforms, but also the image of the EU among Moldovans.
EU-Moldova relations since 2009
In 2009, following civil unrest which led to early elections being called, the then ruling Party of the Communists of the Republic of Moldova was replaced by an alliance of formally ‘pro-European’ parties: the Liberal Party, Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova, Our Moldova Alliance and Democratic Party of Moldova (the table below shows election results for these parties since 2009). From that moment, European integration became the main focus of these political parties, who used pro-European rhetoric to consolidate their electorate and to gain political weight for the first time. The EU believed that the non-Communist parties entering government would be fully dedicated to the European cause and offered substantial political and financial support. This led to EU-Moldova relations gaining new momentum.
Relevant posts:
- Michael White, Larry Elliott & Charlotte Higgins: “What if Britain left the EU?“, The Guardian, 04 November 2014.
- Mudde, C. (2014) “The European Parliament elections show the increasingly fragmented nature of European party systems“, LSE EUROPP, 12 June.
- Leonard, M. & Torreblanca, I. (2014) “The Eurosceptic Surge and How to Respond to It“, Policy Brief, European Council on Foreign Relations, 08 May.