The Newsletter is based on the radio programme broadcast on June 11 th , 2016, produced by the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova in partnership with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung(FES). The programme is broadcast on the Radio Moldova public channel. The programme is part of the FES/APE“European Integration and Foreign Policy Dialogues” Project. The content can be reproduced by mentioning the source. NEWSLETTER MONTHLY BULLETIN JUNE 2016 NR.5(122) Synthesis and Foreign Policy Debates The materials are realized by Lina Grau, foreign policy expert and programme coordinator with APE. TOPICS OF THE EDITION: 1. Berlin and Moscow – a tandem in the resumption of the 5+2 negotiations. Corneliu Ciurea :“Transnistrisation” of Moldova means an increasing influence of the Eurasian factor to the detriment of the European vector 2. Vladimir Iastrebciak : Now it is the time for non-standard models 3. Dmitri Danilov : For Russia it is important to resume the security dialogue with the West The last period was marked by several important events for Moldova. The head of the IMF mission, who discussed with the government in Chisinau in the period of May 23 rd to 27 th about the security of the Moldovan banking sector, said the issue would be a subject of future negotiations over the IMF supported programme for Moldova. Ivanna Vladkova­Hollar said in a statement that during the visit“progress was made in developing a shared vision on the key issues” in the banking sector, such as removing“non-transparent bank shareholder structures,” but that there is no understanding in all respects. The dialogue will continue, but the date of the next visit of the IMF mission with mandate to negotiate a new cooperation programme with the Moldovan Government“has not been established.” An agreement with the IMF is vital to unlock external financing for the Moldovan government. The co-Chair of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee, Andi Cristea, said the Moldovan authorities still have to remove“many vulnerabilities having the potential to stagnate the European course”. The social- democrat MEP Andi Cristea spoke on May 18 th , after a meeting of the Committee in Chisinau, in the company of his Moldovan counterpart Mihai Ghimpu. The EU which has suspended the financial aid to Moldova, is demanding from Moldova to restore the donors’ confidence after the theft of the billion dollars from the banking system. The next meeting of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee is planned to take place in September, in Brussels. The European Union, through its Foreign Affairs Council, said that the““Recent developments in the area of justice in the Republic of Moldova do nothing to dispel the concern expressed by the Council in February on the lack of independence of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies in the country. The statement comes just days after the Superior Council of Magistracy had approved a criminal investigation against Domnica Manole, a judge who had ruled in favour of the“DA Platform” the previous month on the issue of organizing a constitutional referendum. The EU statement released Thursday, June 3 rd , reminded of earlier recommendations such as“judges should not be personally accountable where their decision is overruled or modified on appeal”, and that“the interpretation of the law, assessment of facts or weighing of evidence carried out by judges to determine cases should not give rise to civil or disciplinary liability, except in cases of malice and gross negligence”. Also the US Embassy in Chisinau has expressed concern about the case through a statement published on its Facebook page“Ensuring independence and impartiality in the justice sector is of utmost importance to any democracy. The U.S. Government has worked closely with Moldova on justice sector reform for many years; however, for real reform to take root, Moldovan authorities must take great care to ensure that the rule of law is respected and that there is not even the appearance of political interference, unfairness or intimidation in the conduct of legal matters.” The official negotiations in the 5+2 format that have been suspended for two years, were resumed on the 2 nd and 3 rd of June, in Berlin. The negotiations hosted by the German chairmanship of the OSCE, ended up in the signing of a Protocol by Chisinau and Tiraspol that agreed to further discuss, including at the expert groups’ level, about the recognition of diplomas issued by Transnistrian universities, the international traffic of cars with Transnistrian registration numbers, as well as about improving the mechanism of implementing the previous agreements. Referring to the resumption of negotiations, Cord Meier-Klodt, the German Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the Transnistrian Settlement Process said it is a new momentum in the Transnistrian settlement process. The meeting was regarded as productive also by the negotiators from Chisinau and Tiraspol. Berlin and Moscow – a tandem in the resumption of the 5+2 negotiations On 2 nd and 3 rd of June, in Berlin, under the German OSCE Chairmanship, there were resumed the official negotiations in the 5+ 2 format after a two-year break. The participating parties in the negotiations are Chisinau and Tiraspol as parties to the conflict, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediators and the EU and USA as observers. The participants welcomed the resumption Monthly Bulletin, Nr. 5(123), june 2016 64, Sciusev str. MD-2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, Tel-Fax:+373 22 21 09 86 Website: www.ape.md E-mail: office@ape.md