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 SEPTEMBER 2019 NR.9(163) Synthesis and Foreign Policy Debates The newsletter is developed by Sorina Ştefârţă, editor-coordinator TOPICS OF THE EDITION: 1. HE Angela Ganninger, German Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova: „We are counting on the new Government to fully implement the Association Agreement with the European Union in word, deed and spirit” 2. Editorial by Oleg Serebrian, political scientist, writer, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Berlin: “What is Germany...” 3. Dr. Fritz Felgentreu, member of the German Bundestag and chairman of the German-Moldovan Forum:“ The secret is not to become overly dependent of one single power only” 4. Expert Opinion. Markus Meckel: „The Difficulty of Remembering-Differences in Assessment” Foto: https://kadiasfood.files.wordpress.com News in Brief The European Commission approved on October 10 th , on behalf of the EU, the payment of a 30 million euro instalment to the Republic of Moldova: 10 mln in the form of grants and 20 mln as loan. It is the first of the three payments planned under the Macro-financial Assistance Programme for the Republic of Moldova adopted in September 2017, but suspended in the summer of 2018, because of the non­transparent invalidation of the election results in Chisinau municipality. After the new Government embarked in June 2019 on a comprehensive process of strengthening the independence of justice and combating corruption, the Commission and the European External Action Service decided that the political pre-requisite for the payment of the first instalment had been fulfilled. According to Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs,“The European Commission is ready to continue its close collaboration with the authorities of the Republic of Moldova to contribute to the achievement of a broad and ambitious set of necessary economic and structural reforms with a view to ensuring jobs, economic growth and investments to the benefit of citizens ”. Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was in Chisinau on October 3 rd . Here, during the meetings with the top leadership of the country, Federica Mogherini referred to the main actions that the Government is currently focusing on such as the justice reform and the fight against corruption, the appointment of a new professional and upstanding General Prosecutor, the investigation of bank fraud and money recovery, organizing free and fair local elections, but also promoting Moldova’s interests abroad. The head of the European diplomacy said that her visit to Chisinau is a signal of the relaunching of relations between the EU and the Republic of Moldova and appreciated the determination of the Cabinet led by Maia Sandu in carrying out the comprehensive reform agenda. In her turn, Prime Minister Maia Sandu underlined that the Association Agreement and the European integration policy give us the most realistic chance to create a functional state. The head of the government appreciated the continuous assistance offered by the EU to our country due to which 70% of the exports go to the EU, over 6000 companies benefited from support, over 3000 jobs were created and over 700 kilometres of road were rehabilitated. The actions and priorities to be included in the current Republic of Moldova- Council of Europe (CoE) Action Plan for the years 2019-2020 were discussed at an extended meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. The CoE representatives and those of the national authorities exchanged views on the impact of the completed and ongoing projects, and identified the actions and priorities to be included in the current Plan. Nicu Popescu, the head of the Moldovan diplomacy thanked the CoE for contributing to various areas of strategic importance for the Republic of Moldova and mentioned the impact and results of implementing assistance projects in areas such as strengthening democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights. At the same time, he stressed the need to mobilize internal and external resources in order to advance the reform processes in the country, which will be visible to the citizens. The German lesson, which we are still learning how to learn Sorina Ștefârță The current issue of the newsletter“Syntheses and Debates on Foreign Policy” is dedicated to Germany. Well nothing special is happening in Germany these autumn days. It’s just a crossroad of two anniversaries- 29 years since the reunification of the state, produced on 3 October 1990 and 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, which happened on 9 November 1989. And a model of how to resist and be reborn – literally and figuratively - from its own ashes; how to build your future with dignity, assuming fully your past; how to prosper and assert yourself worldwide; and how to become what we call today“the political and economic engine of the European Union”. And... just an example of how to be a friend. Because Germany remains, for nearly 30 years, one of the faithful friends of the Republic of Moldova. Each of those who interacted with Germany has his/her own history with‘the country of the 16 Länder’. For some, this means philosophy and literature. For others it is just BMW, Mercedes and Wolkswagen... For some this means the chance to do a PhD through DAAD or to benefit from high­quality medicine, which they have not been able to find at home. For others Germany identifies with Monthly Bulletin, Nr. 9(163), September 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