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 AUGUST 2019 NR.8(162) Synthesis and Foreign Policy Debates The newsletter is developed by Sorina Ştefârţă, editor-coordinator TOPICS OF THE EDITION: 1. Vlad Lupan, political analyst, former Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the UN: When we talk about a less involved West, we’d better look in the mirror 2. Editorial by Mădălin Necșuțu, reporter BalkanInsight.com: Chisinau on the moving sands of regional insecurity 3. Elena Mârzac, director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center(IDC) in the Republic of Moldova: To strengthen our security, we need a consolidated message and an informed society 4. Expert Opinion, Dionis Cenușa: Moldova’s“balanced” foreign policy, the Paris-Moscow axis and the Ukrainian dossier News in Brief “The EU support to the Republic of Moldova focuses on generating tangible benefits for the citizens across the country. Since the Sandu Government has taken office, the EU has observed a genuine political will to tackle reforms in areas that have a direct impact on people’s lives such as fighting corruption and electoral reform.” The statement belongs to Christian Danielsson, the General Director for the European Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy within the European Commission, who came to Chisinau to reaffirm the European Union’s commitment to support the reforms initiated by the current Government. Christian Danielsson met with Prime Minister Maia Sandu, President Igor Dodon and Parliament Speaker Zinaida Greceanii. At the same time, during a public event hosted by the European Business Association, the EU official discussed with the representatives of the business environment and civil society about the key areas of the Association Agreement, the rule of law and justice reform as a guarantee for democracy and for the development of business, about the advantages of the Free Trade Area and the consolidation of an economy that will benefit the people, but also about the role of the whole society in supporting the European path of the Republic of Moldova. The relationship on the eastern direction seems to occupy a significant place in the autumn agenda of the Moldovan Foreign Minister. On September 9, Nicu Popescu was in Kiev, where he discussed with his counterpart Vadym Prystaiko about securing the Moldovan-Ukrainian state border, including the Transnistrian segment; about facilitating border control procedures by expanding joint control points; about the ecological protection of the Nistru river, but also about the liberalization of the auto and air transport. Nicu Popescu welcomed the recent exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia and reiterated that the Republic of Moldova does not recognize the so-called recent elections in Crimea and Sevastopol. Two days later, on September 11, Nicu Popescu was in Moscow, where he met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The issues on the agenda included topics such as the intensification of bilateral economic and trade relations; organizing the meeting of the Moldovan-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation, the problems faced by the Moldovan citizens in the absence of a social protection agreement with Russia, the priority of withdrawing the Russian troops deployed in the Transnistrian region and relaunching the dialogue on the withdrawal and destruction of ammunition stored in Cobasna. “The USA has been a supporter in promoting the democratic values ​a​ nd principles in the Republic of Moldova, materialised in a considerable assistance and expertise offered since the declaration of our independence,” said Prime Minister Maia Sandu at the opening of the“American Days”, which is being held in September in different localities in the country. She welcomed the idea of ​t​ his event, noting that“it is an excellent opportunity to learn about projects supported for years by the US Government, but also to learn about the culture, history and traditions of the American people.” For his part, the US Ambassador to Chisinau, Dereck J. Hogan, noted the tangible results attained by the Republic of Moldova thanks to the bilateral relations with the USA. “Since the independence of the Republic of Moldova, the US has invested a great deal to help strengthen the economy, fight corruption and increase transparency and accountability,” said HE Hogan. How many foreign policies are there in Chisinau today? Sorina Ștefârță Last week, Prime Minister Maia Sandu has paid her first official visit to the United States. The head of the Chisinau Executive met with the USA Vice­president, Mike Pence, with whom she discussed the key-priorities in the cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and the USA, but also with other US officials. Maia Sandu told Mike Pence about the reforms initiated by the Executive and about the process of dismantling the former political regime, and asked for the support of the US authorities, the FBI and the CIA, in the investigation of bank fraud. Also, time was reserved for meetings with representatives of the business environment, civil society and Moldovans based in Washington. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, formed part of the Moldovan delegation to the USA. He flew to the United States directly from Berlin, where on September 16 th -17 th he had a working visit at the invitation of his German counterpart Heiko Maas. As in the case of the other visits that he had in the little more than two months period since his appointment as Monthly Bulletin, Nr. 8(162), August 2019 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