Foreign Policy Association together with Friedrich­Ebert-Stiftung offer you a newsletter on foreign policy and European integration issues of the Republic of Moldova. The newsletter is part of the “Foreign Policy Dialogue” joint Project. NEWSLETTER MONTHLY BULLETIN OCTOBER 2018 NR.8(150) Synthesis and Foreign Policy Debates The newsletter is developed by Sorina Ştefârţă, editor-coordinator TOPICS OF THE EDITION: 1. Tatiana Molcean, State Secretary of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova: ”In order to be economically and politically competitive, we should be present also in seemingly irrelevant areas” 2. Editorial by Victoria Bucătaru, Executive director, Foreign Policy Association: “Let’s get back to the(de facto) irreversibility of the European course” 3. I ulian Groza, director of the Institute for European Policy and Reforms(IPRE): “Not even for the EU member-states is the European course irreversible” 4. Expert Opinion. Dionis Cenușă: “Both the Europeans and Americans are waiting for the‘electoral recycling’ from 2019” News in Brief Prime Minister Pavel Filip called again on the Russian Federation to start without delay the withdrawal of the military forces and ammunition from the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The statement was made at the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly. Pavel Filip thanked the states that supported several months ago the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Resolution on the withdrawal of foreign armed forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, the Prime Minister welcomed the inclusion in the agenda of the current session of the UN General Assembly of a new point on“The complete withdrawal of the foreign military forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova”, which means keeping the subject in the attention of the international community, expressing confidence that the complete withdrawal of the Russian troops will facilitate the conflict settlement process and the country reintegration. Pavel Filip spoke also about the efforts made in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, referring in this sense to the“Moldova 2030” Development Strategy, which is in line with the international commitments, including the Moldova-EU Association Agreement. At the first meeting of the Moldova-Georgia-Ukraine Inter-parliamentary Assembly, recently held in Tbilisi, the speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Andrian Candu, launched the initiative of a trilateral platform for information exchange and countering of hybrid threats. According to Candu, the three countries could create inter-institutional contact points to make strategic analyses and exchange relevant data. He underlined the need for a competent analysis and symmetrical reactions to ensure information security in the area.“Disinformation campaigns with massive use of social networks and propaganda make use of the state vulnerabilities, having a negative impact on the fundamental democratic values ​a​ nd freedoms. Hybrid threats target also the financial system, public health, food security, energy, infrastructure, etc. Coordinated and competent measures are needed for an effective response”, said the Moldovan Speaker of Parliament. Candu’s statements were supported by his Ukrainian and Georgian counterparts, being unanimous in the need for prompt and effective response to hybrid threats. “The Republic of Moldova is a dynamic actor of Francophonie in the Central and Eastern Europe region,” said Tudor Ulianovschi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, at the Francophonie Ministerial Conference in Yerevan. The official reaffirmed the commitment of the Republic of Moldova to the promotion of French and French heritage, reiterating the role of Francophonie as a vector of the universal values ​o​ f cultural and linguistic diversity, respect for democracy and the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms, biodiversity and environment. The Foreign Ministers adopted several decisions aimed at enhancing the cooperation of Francophone countries in peace-building in the Francophone area, civic education and human rights, cultural participation, knowledge transfer and research, neglected tropical diseases, promotion of gender equality and participation of women in entrepreneurial activities. The meeting preceded the Francophonie Summit, hosted also by the Armenian capital. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most pro-European of all?.. Sorina Ștefârță It seems under this fairy tale leitmotif that the political autumn in Chisinau is coming to an end, while the electoral parliamentary campaign is starting… At the plenary session from October 18 th , the Moldovan Parliament failed to get the 67 votes needed to introduce the phrase“European integration” into the Moldovan Constitution. The proposal came from the Democratic Party (PDM) and was strongly promoted by this political formation and its allies. In the first reading it had even been backed by the constitutional majority. In the second reading, however, something didn’t work. Formally, the PDM did not accept the concession to put to vote also the phrase “Romanian language”. As a result, PLDM and PL have just changed their minds... De facto, most likely, both sides have played political games, as a result of which some have become“pure” pro-Europeans, while the others-“anti-European”, good to be beaten in the future electoral discourse. Assumed castration, as psychoanalysts would say. The feeling of domestic political games is reinforced also by the phenomena happening next to us and targeting us directly, but we prefer not to notice them, letting them Monthly Bulletin, Nr. 8(150), October 2018 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