Politics
Like Moldova, Ukraine wants both ways – free trade agreement with EU and CIS
Reading Time: 3 minutesUkraine has signed a free trade agreement with the CIS and completed its free trade talks with the EU. Unlike membership of the Customs Union (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan), which Moscow keeps inviting Kyiv to join, the CIS free trade accord does not formally hinder Kyiv’s official EU integration strategy.
By Pavel Korduban/ Eurasia Daily Monitor/ Washington, DC — Ukraine has signed a free trade agreement with the CIS and completed its free trade talks with the EU. Unlike membership of the Customs Union (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan), which Moscow keeps inviting Kyiv to join, the CIS free trade accord does not formally hinder Kyiv’s official EU integration strategy. At the same time, Russia could use the accord as a means to draw Ukraine closer to its sphere of influence. Although the free trade accord prepared with the EU is more comprehensive than the CIS agreement, it is not clear when it will be signed because it is part of a broader association agreement, talks on which have been complicated by the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (see EDM, October 5). This leaves an opportunity for Moscow.
On October 18, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov signed a CIS free trade accord along with representatives of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan. Azarov said he hoped the accord, unlike the 1994 still-born CIS free trade accord, would come into effect in 2012. Ukraine has long insisted on free trade with the CIS but the accord was signed on Russian conditions. Oil, gas, sugar and alcohol – the goods free trade in which would have benefited Ukraine – will be exempt from the agreement. Nevertheless, the agreement favors Ukrainian metals, confectionery and machines, which are among the country’s main export items. Azarov estimated that the accord, when it comes into effect, would add some 2 percent to Ukraine’s annual GDP growth (www.liga.net, Segodnya, October 20).
Ukraine’s opposition has rejected the accord, arguing that it was signed on Russian conditions and that it could slow its integration with the EU. However, Azarov insisted that the CIS free trade accord would in no way affect Kyiv’s free trade talks with the EU and he noted that it did not oblige Ukraine to join the Customs Union (Ukrainska Pravda, October 21). Yanukovych also stressed that the CIS accord “in no way implies any hindrance in matters of Ukraine’s European integration” (UNIAN, October 23). European Commission trade spokesman John Clancy said the commission did not see how the accord could affect Ukraine’s relations with the EU (UNIAN, October 19). However, Deputy Prime Minister Serhy Tyhypko admitted in an interview with Ekho Moskvy on October 28 that the CIS free trade accord brought Ukraine closer to the Customs Union.
A breakthrough in the trade talks with the EU was reached almost simultaneously. On October 20, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Andry Klyuyev and European Commission trade commissioner Karel De Gucht announced that they reached agreement on all parameters of an EU-Ukraine free trade deal. This should facilitate the completion of the technical talks on an association deal comprising the free trade agreement by the end of 2011, according to De Gucht. He added that everything will now depend on the political resolve to complete the association talks (UNIAN, October 20).
The problem with the Ukraine-EU free trade talks is that they are part of the wider association talks so there can be no free trade without an association agreement. However, there are signs that Ukraine and the EU will not even initial the association agreement this year. First, the October 25 round of the association talks, which had been widely expected to be the last round before the association agreement signing in December 2011, was a failure. EU external action service director Miroslav Lajcak said another round of talks would be needed. Ukraine has insisted that the agreement should mention the possibility of EU membership in the future. Lajcak said this was one of the main stumbling blocks. Lajcak also said Ukraine should speed up the reforms of justice and public administration (Kommersant-Ukraine, October 27).
Moreover, Kyiv’s failure to admit that Tymoshenko’s imprisonment was a mistake and President Viktor Yanukovych’s reluctance to correct it prompted the EU to focus its attention on the situation with criminal justice in Ukraine and the broader issue of democracy. On October 25, the European Parliament adopted an unusually harsh resolution on Ukraine, saying that although it welcomed the conclusion of the free trade talks, a failure to review Tymoshenko’s conviction would jeopardize the conclusion of the association agreement. The European Parliament also expressed alarm over the situation with media freedom and urged Ukraine to adhere to the OSCE and Venice Commission’s recommendations on the electoral legislation. The authorities have drafted a new election bill, which provides for replacing the current proportional with a mixed system of elections, but the European bodies urged a revision of the bill as the new system is likely to make it very easy for the ruling party to win the parliamentary election next year.
Kyiv has pretended that nothing has happened. Yanukovych said he would continue to insist that the association and free trade agreement to be signed with the EU in December should mention the possibility of full membership of the EU in the future (UT1, October 19). He dismissed the European Parliament’s resolution as emotional, and in a recent telegram to EU President Herman Van Rompuy, he said the association talks should be completed successfully at the Ukraine-EU summit scheduled for December 19 (www.president.gov.ua, October 28; Ukrainska Pravda, October 31).
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The Eurasia Daily Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation.
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu, pay an official visit to Brussels, between September 27-28, being invited by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Today, Prime Minister had a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Moldovan PM thanked the senior European official for the support of the institution in strengthening democratic processes, reforming the judiciary and state institutions, economic recovery and job creation, as well as increasing citizens’ welfare. Natalia Gavrilita expressed her confidence that the current visit laid the foundations for boosting relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, so that, in the next period, it would be possible to advance high-level dialogues on security, justice and energy. Officials also exchanged views on priorities for the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in December.
“The EU is open to continue to support the Republic of Moldova and the ambitious reform agenda it proposes. Moldova is an important and priority partner for us,” said Charles Michel.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita also met with Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, expressing her gratitude for the support received through the OMNIBUS macro-financial assistance program. The two officials discussed the need to advance the recovery of money from bank fraud, to strengthen sustainable mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova, and to standardize the customs and taxes as one of the main conditions for deepening cooperation with the EU in this field.
Additionally, Prime Minister spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership and the Deep Free Trade Agreement, noting that the Government’s policies are aimed at developing an economic model aligned with the European economic model, focused on digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy.
A common press release of the Moldovan Prime Minister with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, took place today, where the agenda of Moldova’s reforms and the main priorities to focus on in the coming months were presented: judiciary reform; fighting COVID-19 pandemic; promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation; strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.
“I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, but I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope that we will continue to strengthen cooperation.”
The Moldovan delegation met Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Tomorrow, there are scheduled common meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport and Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.
Prime Minister will also attend a public event, along with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
Photo: gov.md
Politics
Promo-LEX about Maia Sandu’s UN speech: The president must insist on appointing a rapporteur to monitor the situation of human rights in Transnistria
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to New York, USA, between September 21-22. There, she participates in the work of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a press release of the President’s Office, the official will deliver a speech at the tribune of the United Nations.
In this context, the Promo-LEX Association suggested the president to request the appointment of a special rapporteur in order to monitor the situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region. According to Promo-LEX, the responsibility for human rights violations in the Transnistrian region arises as a result of the Russian Federation’s military, economic and political control over the Tiraspol regime.
“We consider it imperative to insist on the observance of the international commitments assumed by the Russian Federation regarding the withdrawal of the armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the country,” the representatives of Promo-LEX stated. They consider the speech before the UN an opportunity “to demand the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Russian Federation with reference to this territory which is in its full control.”
“It is important to remember about the numerous cases of murder, torture, ill-treatment, forced enlistment in illegal military structures, the application of pseudo-justice in the Transnistrian region, all carried out under the tacit agreement of the Russian Federation. These findings stem from dozens of rulings and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in the region.”
The association representatives expressed their hope that the president of the country would give priority to issues related to the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region and would call on relevant international actors to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms throughout Moldova.
They asked Maia Sandu to insist on the observance of the obligation to evacuate the ammunition and the military units of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, to publicly support the need for the Russian Federation to implement the ECtHR rulings on human rights violations in the Transnistrian region, and to request the appointment of an UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
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The Promo-LEX Association concluded that 14 out of 25 actions planned within the National Action Plan for the years 2018–2022 concerning respecting human rights in Transnistria were not carried out by the responsible authorities.
The association expressed its concern and mentioned that there are a large number of delays in the planned results. “There is a lack of communication and coordination between the designated institutions, which do not yet have a common vision of interaction for the implementation of the plan.”
Promo-LEX requested the Government of the Republic of Moldova to re-assess the reported activities and to take urgent measures, “which would exclude superficial implementation of future activities and increase the level of accountability of the authorities.”
Photo: peacekeeping.un.org
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