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 JULY 2024 NR. 7(221) Synthesis and Foreign Policy NNTheeewwnsselleewttttseelrre--tuutell reessistteedrreeevaaellliiozzpaaettdddeebyMMMăăddăăădllăiinnlinNNNeecceșșcuușțțuuuț,,urr,eeedddaaitccottoor-rrc--occooooordrrddinooanntaaottroorr Debates TOPICS OF THE EDITION: 1. Interview with Marin Gherman, political analyst: It’s hard to build a logistics for the reconstruction works in Ukraine because missiles can fall and destroy everything you’ve built 2. Analysis of Brian Milakovsky, political expert: It’s the real economy, stupid: why FDI is not enough to save Ukraine 3. Interview with Angela Grămada, director of ESGA: Romania insists that the Republic of Moldova should be included in the process of Ukraine’s reconstruction News in Brief The Moldovan authorities have made noticeable progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission in the EU accession process, states a report produced by the Independent Analytical Center “Expert-Group”, the Institute for European Policies and Reforms, Institutum Virtutes Civilis, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, publicly presented on July 23, in Chisinau. The authors of the Independent Evaluation Report on the progress of the Republic of Moldova, for the period June 1, 2023- July 31, 2024, the experts rated the progress made by the authorities in the Fundamentals chapter with an average of 3.2 points out of 5: democracy, public administration reform, justice reform, fight agaist corruption, fundamental rights, freedom of expression, security, the existence of a functional market economy, public procurement, statistics, financial control, social policies and employment. On June 25, accession negotiations with the EU officially began. The Chisinau authorities hope that they will be concluded by 2030 and the Republic of Moldova will become a full member of the European Union. The eVMS.md platform dedicated to the trading of state securities(VMS) will be launched in the Republic of Moldova. This is the first of this kind in Moldova. Citizens will have more options to make safe investments, to ensure a stable financial future, while also contributing to the financing of the country’s development projects. The eVMS.md page, which will be launched on July 31, 2024, will allow direct transactions, without intermediaries and commissions, by all citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The new platform was developed by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova with the support of the USAID Project“Financial Sector Transparency in Moldova”. The launch of the eVMS.md platform will provide the opportunity for citizens in the country or abroad, who have a bank account in the Republic of Moldova, to invest in VMS, and for the Ministry of Finance to borrow from individuals, to finance various development projects in the country- social, infrastructure, etc. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihai Popșoi, presented his activity report to the deputies of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy and European Integration. The document contains the MFA’s actions from the last two years, as well as the priorities set for the next period in order to make the diplomatic service more efficient. “We opt for a pro-active, anticipatory, coherent and predictable foreign policy, oriented towards concrete results. Thus, we focus on the professionalization of the diplomatic staff, but also on the expansion of the diplomatic presence in the countries where the number of Moldovan citizens from the diaspora has grown exponentially”, emphasized Mihai Popșoi. Two strategic priorities of the MFA, resulting from the Government’s public policies for 2025-2027, proposed by Mihai Popșoi, aim at expanding the diplomatic presence of the Republic of Moldova, by opening new embassies in Egypt and Kazakhstan and additional consulates in USA, Germany and Canada. Reconstruction of Ukraine: future plans or necessary pre-established plans The ruins of the pediatric hospital in Kyiv, after the Russian bombings of July 8, 2024. Photo: Presidential Administration of Ukraine It is very difficult to predict how and with what kind of damage the Russian military invasion of Ukraine will end. Specialists do not give a deadline for the cessation of hostilities, and everything will depend on several factors, mainly on the ability of Ukraine to resist, the ability of Russia to advance and on the positioning of the actors supporting the two camps. The ideal scenario would be for Ukraine to be able to turn the tide of the war and drive the Russian military out of the country to the level before 2014, when the Crimean Peninsula was annexed. However, with still modest support from the West and the uncertainty of massive support from the US, which is dependent on the next occupant of the White House, Ukraine can only hope that the Western world will be interested in pumping in massive aid that is crucial for the military liberation from Russian forces. Monthly newsletter, No.7(221), July 2024 111 Bucuresti St., Chisinau, MD-2012, Republic of Moldova, Tel.+373 855830 Website: moldova.fes.de. E-mail: fes.moldova@fes.de