La Moldavie et l'Union Européenne: de simples voisins?

Résumé du document

The Economist recently wrote an article on Moldova entitled "the country that Europe forgot" describing the tiny Republic who, due to an unhappy combination of economic, political and geopolitical factors, is "last in the queue for love and attention" . Such statements seem to find an echo in the EU's policy towards Moldova. In fact, since 2004, when the EU came up with a new policy to deal with its neighbours, Moldova found itself amongst a group of countries ranging from Morocco to Azerbaijan, which had a very dim or no perspective of joining the EU. It was in fact explicitly stated in the newly born "European Neighbourhood Policy" (ENP) that it was designed as a distinct instrument from the enlargement process . My aim in this paper is to question the adequacy of the ENP as the framework for the relation between the EU and Moldova. My argument will be that the ENP is not doing justice to Moldova's aspirations of becoming a member of the EU and is undermining the impact that the EU could have on Moldova's reform process if it instead included the country in the Stabilization and Association Process. In the first part of my essay, I will outline the relationship between Moldova and the EU since the collapse of the Soviet Union until its inclusion in the ENP to highlight that the EU has shown very little interest for the tiny Republic and ultimately missed an opportunity to give Moldova an anchor in the enlargement process. I will then move on to assess the relevance and impact of the ENP framework for Moldova highlighting the fact that it is largely asymmetric with Moldova's aspirations and thus has a limited impact on the reform process on the long term. Finally, I will show the added value that the inclusion of Moldova in the Stabilization and Association Process for the Western Balkans could have compared to the ENP, particularly as a more effective instrument to deal with the Transdniestria conflict.

Extraits

[...] Rupnik (eds.) Les Banlieues de l'Europe, Paris, Sciences Po p145-146 M. Calic, op. cit., p12 Ibid. N.Popescu ‘Moldova's European Policy Options', op. cit p7 Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. A. [...]

[...] The example of the Western Balkans undeniably shows that stability has been successful essentially through the European perspective. In this respect, a parallel can be drawn between the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Moldova. In fact, Bosnia came out of the war as a profoundly divided country and was ridden by a strong desire by the Bosnian- Serb entity to declare their independence. Since then however, the EU has been engaged in a genuine “state-building” policy towards Bosnia, contributing to the adoption of a single currency, a single penal code and most importantly, a single army[40]. [...]

[...] p4 Ibid European Commission, Communication from the Commission : Wider Europe- Neighbourhood, op. cit p5 Vahl, op. cit., p179 S.Buscaneanu far is the ENP a substantial offer for Moldova', Eurojournal.org p 46, http://eurojournal.org/files/enpandmoldova.pdf Ibid. J. Wiersma EU and Moldova : A Neglected Relationship' in A. Lewis (eds.) The EU and Moldova, London, Arrowsmith pp N. Popescu ‘Moldova's European Policy Options', Eurojournal.org p3, http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=FD3772D4-32CD- 4D2F-87D1-7AD0A190DF4A G.Sasse ENP : conditionality-lite Development and Transition, Vol June 2006, p12, http://www.developmentandtransition.net/uploads/issuesAttachments/14/DevAndT ransFourWeb.pdf Ibid. G. [...]

[...] Firstly, the EU initiated accession negotiations with five accession candidates and a further seven in 2000 including Romania. This had a particularly negative effect on Romania as the EU Council's decision to abolish the visa regime for Romanians meant that hundred of thousands of Moldovan rushed to ask for Romanian citizenship, increasing the demographic drain that was already characteristic of the country[8]. Secondly, the EU's role in the Balkans increased following the 1999 war in Kosovo as the countries of the Western Balkans were offered a “European perspective” through the Stabilization and Association Process[9]. [...]

[...] Parmentier's comment that the ENP is less attractive to Moldovan politicians than the Stability Pact given its association with the Stabilization and Association Process is therefore not surprising[34]. Given the extent of reform that needs to be undertaken in Moldova, there is clearly a need for more leverage which only a process tied to the promise of EU membership can provide with[35]. On the long term the EU cannot expect to have a significant impact on Moldova without a clear perspective of membership. [...]