Financiarul

The European Union foreign ministers adopted the mandate of the negotiations on a new agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova and – on Romania’s demand – such talks will not be launched as long as Chisinau fails to correct its visa policy towards the Romanian citizens, Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu said at the end of the meeting of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on Monday.

The state of affairs in the Republic of Moldova led at the cancellation of a meeting of the EU¬Republic of Moldova Cooperation Council due on Tuesday.

The EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday reiterated their firm commitment to deepening the relations between the EU and the Republic of Moldova on the basis of common values and principles.

The conclusions of the meeting adopted by the 27 top diplomats at the end of the GAERC meeting says Brussels backs the economic and political reforms in the Republic of Moldova that are aimed at strengthening democracy and good governance, the state of law, the freedom of the press and the respect of the fundamental human rights and freedoms.

The Council hails the European Commission’s intention to launch a comprehensive package to support democracy in the Republic of Moldova, the document says.

The EU Council also expresses willingness to start negotiations on a new comprehensive agreement between the EU and the Republic of Moldova as soon as circumstances allow.

In this context and with a view to the start of the negotiations, the Council calls on the Republic of Moldova to ensure equal treatment to all EU citizens in its visa policy and underlines the importance of the principle of good neighbourly relations, the document says.

At the same time, the Council expresses serious concern over the human rights abuses that took place after the April 5 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova.

It calls for a transparent, impartial and efficient investigation of the human rights violations as well as the events around April 7, through a process that includes the opposition as well as international experts.

The Council underlines that the use of violence for political aims is unacceptable.

The Council is also concerned by the deterioration of the freedom of expression and media freedom and urges the Republic of Moldova to ensure equal access of the political parties to the public media, to ensure transparent allocation of media licences and to refrain from the use of administrative pressure against independent media, civil society, organisations and political parties, the Council conclusions say.

It also calls on the Republic of Moldova to guarantee that the forthcoming parliamentary elections are free and fair and to closely work together with the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to address their recommendations.