Minister: Moldova is the frontrunner for visa liberalisation
Moldova expects to become the frontrunner of the EU's Eastern partner states vying for visa liberalisation with the 28-country bloc, if it signs its mooted association agreement at a 28-29 November summit in Vilnius, Moldova’s Foreign and European Integration Minister Natalia Gherman told EurActiv Slovakia in an exclusive interview. READ MORE
Vilnius Summit – a new beginning for Moldova
President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the Prime Minister of Moldova, Iurie Leancă. The meeting focused on preparations for the upcoming Vilnius Summit to be held in November, as well as Moldova's progress in implementing reforms. An EU association agreement is expected to be initialed with Moldova at the summit. READ MORE
Expert: Rogozin’s stance on Moldova-EU energy deal is blackmailing
Energy experts believe that Russian Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin’s speech delivered in Chisinau on Monday proves once again that Moldova has chosen the right path, Russia seeming disturbed by country’s moves towards the European Union. READ MORE
Russia threatens Moldova over its EU relations
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has warned Moldova that signing an association agreement with the European Union would have “serious consequences” for the country’s future, echoing similar threats levelled at Ukraine. READ MORE
Ambassador Ion Stavila: The main thing in Transdniestrian settlement is not to stand still
On May 23, Odesa hosted the next round of negotiations on the Transdniestrian settlement in the 5+2 format (Chisinau and Tiraspol as the parties to the conflict, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediators, and the EU and the United States as observers). This is the second meeting that was held as part of Ukraine's chairmanship of the OSCE in 2013. READ MORE
EU travel restrictions will be eased for Ukrainians and Moldovans
Travel to the EU is set to become easier for people from Ukraine and Moldova after MEPs approved plans for visa exemptions for holders of biometric service passports and a simplification of requirements demonstrating the purpose of their journey. EU citizens are already exempt from visa requirements when travelling to these countries. We talked to Claude Moraes and Marian Jean Marinescu, the two MEPs in charge, about why they support these amendments to the existing visa facilitation agreements. READ MORE
Kiev and Moscow Can Take Single Stand on Transnistria
The USA initiates a discussion on the peacekeeping mission of the Russian Federation within Dniester READ MORE
Soft Power with an Iron Fist: Putin Administration to Change the Face of Russia’s Foreign Policy Toward Its Neighbors
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s talk at the Russian Foreign Ministry on September 3, when he powerfully stressed the need for his country to strengthen and consolidate its “soft power” (mid.ru, September 3), may look to an outside observer like an optimistic signal and a long-awaited change in Russia’s foreign policy. This benign view, however, could not be more wrong. Rather, the Kremlin is seeking to exploit the Western concept of “soft power”—which basically implies the power of attraction—and reframing it as a euphemism for coercive policy and economic arm-twisting. READ MORE
The CSTO Enfant terrible
Suspension of Uzbekistan Membership in the Organization May Have the Most Serious Consequences READ MORE
Ukraine Is Falling Behind Moldova, Georgia and Armenia in European Integration
In the European Union’s second Eastern Partnership Integration Index (EPII) report, trends evident already last year are continuing. Ukraine is moving “away from its one-time status as the ENP [European Neighborhood Policy] poster child.” This report confirms the EU’s assessment of the first year of the new ENP. “The area of deep and sustainable democracy experienced a further deterioration in 2011,” and “several leading opposition figures, including former Prime Minister Tymoshenko, were subjected to selective justice, characterized by un-transparent judicial processes,” the EPII proclaims. READ MORE