​NEW MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT DECLARES EUROPEAN INTEGRATION ITS STRATEGIC GOAL

European integration has been declared as the strategic goal of the new Government of Moldova, reads its 2015-2018 work program, which the candidate for prime minister Valeriu Strelet presented in parliament on Thursday.

The Preamble to the program reads that the most reliable way to raising the welfare, security and the quality of life of citizens is European integration.

“To this end, the Government seeks to create all necessary prerequisites, whose realization will ensure Moldova the right to receive the status of a candidate for admission to the European Union. Successful realization of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement is aimed at receiving such status by Moldova”, said the program.

In a short-term perspective, main objectives include elimination of risks to the state’s domestic and external security, banking sector stabilization, struggle against financial fraud, ensuring of balance between a sustainable fiscal consolidation and incentives for economic development, and protection of citizens’ incomes.

The Cabinet’s medium-term priorities include the raising of citizens’ welfare by ensuring an inclusive economic growth and by supporting vulnerable population groups. Alongside with it, this means also struggle against corruption, reforming of the judiciary system and legal institutions, which the Government believes should ensure supremacy of law, reintegration of the country and should guarantee an access to high-quality education and health services.

“The Government’s ultimate goal is to build a powerful state that would serve to the people, a state with honest and fair institutions functioning in accordance with the principles of transparency and efficiency, a state where the law works, where legal institutions are de-politicized, where justice is administered in citizens’ interests and where public means are used in the interests of the civil society”, maintains the document.

According to the program, the Government’s foreign political priority is to deepen strategic partnership with Romania for the sake of the Republic of Moldova’s European integration. The Government is also projecting to strengthen its “multifaceted strategic relationship of good neighborly ties with Ukraine – with an accent to be placed on European integration”.

The program mentions also “improvement of strategic dialog with the United States, invigoration of political dialog with Russia to normalize bilateral relations, including in trade, in economic, energy and migration fields, by using the potential of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation to a full extent”.

The new Government intends also to use the potential of cooperation with such countries as Canada, Japan, China, Turkey, Israel, South Korea, India, Qatar as well as with other world and regional actors. Also, the development of relations with CIS member states, in particular with the Republic of Belarus and Republic of Kazakhstan, in trade and economic sphere is regarded as priority directions in the activities of the new Cabinet of Ministers.

As for relationships with international and regional organizations, such as the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the Southeastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP), the Central European Initiative (CEI), the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development GUAM [uniting Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova], the Moldovan Government is projecting to participate consistently in their activities for promoting national interests and priorities, for bettering the image and prestige of the Republic of Moldova on the international arena.

In the “Security and Defense” section, the Government work program stipulates the updating of the National Security Strategy to overcome unfavorable situations at the international level, including through cooperation with the European Union in the field of the policy of security and general defense.

The new Cabinet intends to contribute to the EU policy of security and mutual defense and to continue cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance within the framework of Moldova-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) and other programs.

One of the security policy aspects is related to a gradual professionalizing of the national army, the development of the potential of military information in the interests of national defense and of realization of the programs of ensuring information security and cyber protection.

The program stipulates the holding of negotiations and signing of a RM-EU agreement on the procedures of exchanging confidential information.