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 JUNE 2023 NR.6(208) Synthesis and Foreign Policy Debates NTheewnselewttselre-tutel resistedreevaelliozpaet ddebyMMădăădlăinlinNNeceșcușțuuț,ur,eeddaitcotor-rc-ocooordrdinoantaotror TOPICS OF THE EDITION: 1. Olga Roșca, presidential adviser: "The Republic of Moldova demonstrated administrative capacity at the EPC summit, which indicates that we also have the administrative capacity for EU accession" 2. Editorial by Lina Grâu, journalist: "Is the summit of the European Political Community the point of no return for the European integration of the Republic of Moldova?" 3. Expert opinion, Platform for Security and Defence Initiatives(PISA): "Security benefits for the Republic of Moldova as a result of the EPC 2023 Summit" News in Brief The Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization developed, on June 28th, an initiative to amend the law through which foreign citizens will be able to work in the Republic of Moldova without a work permit. The Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, Dumitru Alaiba, claims that the current legislation contains several provisions that limit access to qualified labour and, thus, block the country’s economic growth.“When an investor comes to launch a business in Moldova, he does not have to start his journey by applying for a work permit at the Migration and Asylum Office. When a Moldovan company wants to hire expertise from abroad, the work permit does not have to be an impediment. Due to this constraint, investors actually bypass the Republic of Moldova also because they simply do not have anyone to hire”, he declared. Thus, in addition to the 18 categories of foreign citizens who can get hired in the Republic of Moldova without a work permit, citizens from the 27 member states of the European Union, but also from 19 other countries such as the USA, Great Britain, Switzerland, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea and others could benefit from this right. The authorities claim that there are many sectors of the economy that need labour. The EPC Summit, an administrative test successfully passed by Chisinau on its European path The Republic of Moldova signed, on June 27, the trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association(EFTA). The agreement will allow Moldovan producers to export goods, without paying customs tariffs, to the four EFTA member countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norwa,y and Switzerland. The signing of such an agreement strengthens the economic ties between Moldova and Western countries, stimulates international cooperation and sends a clear message to our partners- Moldova respects the principles of fair trade and promotes a transparent and predictable environment for cross­border trade transactions, claims Prime Minister Dorin Recean in a post on his Facebook page. President Maia Sandu claims that this agreement is another important step towards our economic integration in Europe and contributes to maintaining stability and increasing the well-being of citizens. The Federal Council of Switzerland adopted, on June 28, sanctions targeting five Moldovan citizens. The argument of the decision invokes “attempts to destabilize the Republic of Moldova”. Among them are businessmen and politicians who“participated in acts of undermining the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova”. Those five are banned from entering and transiting Switzerland, and their assets from this country will be frozen. “Switzerland thus supports the sanctions imposed by the EU at the request of Moldova due to the intensification of destabilizing actions in this country since the beginning of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine,” notes the Federal Council. The measures applied by Switzerland provide for the freezing of the assets and economic resources of those persons and the prohibition of entry and transit through Switzerland. Switzerland’s decision represents the transposition of an earlier EU decision in this regard. Moreover, Norway also aligned itself with this decision. The European Political Community(EPC) Summit, the event held on June 1 st at the Mimi Castel in the village of Bulboaca near Chisinau, placed Chisinau among the great European capitals, where important decisions for the entire Europe were made. The administrative test of organizing an event of such a scale was successfully passed by the Moldovan authorities. They behaved exemplary in terms of the resources they had at their disposal. It is true that other partner countries, especially Romania, contributed to this organizational success, but the full credit can only go to the Republic of Moldova, which demonstrated it can rise to the level of such an event. The Republic of Moldova obtained not only image benefits from this summit. There was tangible military aid from Poland, which sent a significant shipment of military equipment to Chisinau that will be used by the employees of the Ministry of Monthly newsletter, No.06(208), June 2023 111 Bucuresti St., Chisinau, MD-2012, Republic of Moldova, Tel.+373 855830 Website: fes-moldova.org. E-mail:fes@fes-moldova.org