The Newsletter is based on the radio programme broadcast on October 12th, 2017, produced by the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova in partnership with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung(FES). The programme is broadcast on the Moldova Public Radio. The programme is part of the FES/APE“Foreign Policy Dialogues” Project. The content can be reproduced by mentioning the source. NEWSLETTER MONTHLY BULLETIN OCTOBER 2017 NR.8(138) 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. Roundtable in Chisinau dedicated to the Moldovan-Ukrainian relationship. Opinions of Ukrainian and Moldovan diplomats. 2. Serghei Gherasimciuk : At the high level, there is a lack of confidence between Chisinau and Kiev 3. Angela Grămadă : European integration opens new possibilities for political cooperation between Chisinau and Kiev 4. Natalia Stercul : Moldovan-Ukrainian relationship- getting closer to the EU opens up new perspectives The last period was marked by a series of important events for the Republic of Moldova. The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Volodimir Groisman, and his Moldovan counterpart, Pavel Filip, have signed in Chisinau a joint agreement on the opening of common border check points, including on the Transnistrian segment. The Kiev Head of Government visited Moldova on Friday, October 7th. At the joint press conference of the two prime ministers, Pavel Filip reminded that Moldova and Ukraine have already opened in July this year the first joint check point- Pervomaisk-Cuciurgan. Pavel Filip said that he also discussed with his counterpart about the mutual recognition of properties, the finalization of the border demarcation process and the operation of the Novodnestrovsk hydroelectric complex. The Moldovan Ministry of Finance has announced that Romania had transferred the last instalment of 40 million euros from the 150 million saviour loan granted to Moldova last year when other foreign aid was blocked as a result of the billion theft. The reimbursable financial assistance will be used to cover the Moldovan budget expenditures for the current year. On October 3rd, the European Parliament had a debate on the developments in Moldova and on the motions of the EPP and European and Social Democrats groups on the situation in Moldova and the fulfilment of the commitments made by Moldova under the Association Agreement with the EU. Victor Boştinaru, Vice-President of the European Parliament and member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, said the EU should provide strong support to the government in Chisinau and that the motion signed by 19 MEPs to suspend Moldova’s funding would be to the advantage of Moscow. Prime Minister Pavel Filip assured the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, that the government will meet“all conditionalities” for the EU’s€100 million macro-financial assistance“according to the agreed timetable.” Filip met with Hahn on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 22. In a broadcast on the public television station, Prime Minister Pavel Filip admitted that the macro-financial assistance may not be received by the Republic of Moldova this year, but it will surely be allocated next year, without making any reference to actual fulfilment of conditions. During a meeting with Peter Michalko, the new head of the European Union Delegation to Chişinău, President Igor Dodon announced about his“plans to visit Brussels in the coming months, where he will discuss the agenda of relations between the EU and the Republic of Moldova with several officials”. On the other hand, Igor Dodon had a new meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 10th, in Sochi, on the sidelines of the CIS Summit, announced the presidential advisor Iuri Ushakov in Moscow. The EU assistance to the Republic of Moldova will continue, but not without conditions linked to the reform process, and these reforms will be assessed based on clear criteria, said the new Head of the EU Delegation to Chisinau, Peter Michalko, in Chisinau, at his first meeting with the mass media. Referring to the EU-promised assistance of 100 million euros, the diplomat stressed that the money would be conditional on democracy-related criteria and that the political criteria would be very important in releasing each tranche.“We will follow closely the democratic situation in the Republic of Moldova, including the electoral legislation, the situation in the media and civil society,” said Peter Michalko. Chisinau and Kiev relationship ­between cooperation and competition A roundtable on the Moldovan-Ukrainian relations was recently held in Chisinau. The roundtable“Moldova-Ukraine: Cooperation, Competition, Interdependence” was organized by the Kiev office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation together with the Ukrainian Foreign Policy Council“Prisma”. A similar event was earlier held in Kiev. The purpose of these roundtables was to study the most sensitive issues in the bilateral relations, the successful experience and the possibilities for developing mutually beneficial cooperation strategies for the two countries. The participants in the meetings have discussed issues related to border demarcation and management, modernization of border crossing points, land exchange between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, development of infrastructure projects and their impact on the environment, especially of the hydroelectric power plants project, Moldovan experience in the Transnistrian settlement, the situation of ethnic minorities and others. Monthly Bulletin, Nr. 8(138), October 2017 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