Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 27 August 2016: Moldova, 25 years of independence

On 27 August 1991, the Great National Assembly of the Republic of Moldova adopted the Declaration of Independence enshrining the end of Soviet Union control over the country. This year, the Independence Day is celebrated with a picturesque military parade in Piața Marii Adunări Naționale (Great National Assembly Square) involving the National Army troops and vehicles as well as divisions of the Ukrainian, Romanian, Polish and British armies.

Congratulatory messages have arrived from several world leaders. Statement by Spokesperson of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova reaffirms, among other things, the necessity to implement “much-needed, genuine reforms, an unwavering fight against corruption, the de-politicisation of state institutions, the strengthened independence of the judiciary, the modernisation of public services, the improvement of media freedom, and the implementation of deep economic reforms are indispensable prerequisites” in order to maximise the benefits of the Association Agreement signed in July 2014, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.

Similarly, the U.S. Ambassador James D. Pettit expressed pride in being among the first countries recognizing Moldova's independence, recalling the progress the country made to get closer to the European standards. Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis also delivered a message to his Moldovan counterpart Nicoale Timofti remarking the close cooperation between the two neighbouring countries upon the Moldovan way to Europe as well as the common language, culture and history they share.

Anti-government protests and riots have also been registered on Saturday 26th, during another ceremony in Chisinau with police firing tear gas to disperse protesters. Several NGOs and human rights activists protest against the government and “oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc” with the slogan “I am not afraid”. The protesters say few good things happened in the last 25 years to be celebrated, especially in the context of the current crisis.

Despite 25 years of independence, in fact, Moldova is the poorest nation in Europe. It counts at least a quarter of its population working abroad, especially in Russia. Reforms efforts seem to have been too weak to guarantee economic prosperity and social justice uprooting widespread corruption. Moldova energy supplies almost totally depend on Russian resources. When Chisinau grew closer to the EU, Russia banned products import from Moldova causing millions of dollars of losses.

Russian military presence in the Transdniester, the self-declared autonomy of the territory in 1990 and the 2014 request to be annexed to Russia represents another thorn in the flesh for Moldovan government. It recently criticized Russian military exercises held in the breakaway pro-Russian region, saying they were “illegal” and undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova.

To date, Moldova commitment to join the EU seems not to be effective enough to get rid of Russia sphere of influence.