British Deputy Head of Mission Visits Ziarul de Gardă

He talked in great detail about the work the British Government was currently doing in Moldova in the country in the run-up to next year’s election, including monitoring pre-election campaigns six months in advance to ensure that in 2009 Moldovan citizens will be able to participate in a free and democratic election, and not only that on the day that the voting procedure is transparent. Mr Mitchell also affirmed that there would be strong ramifications for the Moldovan Government if the European Union observers felt that 2009’s general election was not conducted in a satisfactory manner and failed to meet with their standards.

Ziarul de Gardă was also praised by Mr Mitchell for the work that is was doing, declaring that the role of the media is extremely important in highlighting corruption in the country, not just in the elections, but in the country as a whole, and that it has a great responsibility in informing its readers about the social problems and widespread corruption in Moldova, and what they could do to eradicate it.

Comparisons were also made with the British media, where it was noted that generally Moldovan reporters are younger than in the UK, yet Mr Mitchell commented that this was a good thing, and that a new generation of journalists coming through who were embracing new ideas and new methods could only be a good thing for the country and its mass media.

Mr Mitchell also spoke at great length about British-Moldovan relations, and about how the British Embassy in Chişinău is cooperating with the Moldovan Government and NGOs in the country. He detailed how they are assisting promoting democratic values in the country, and in tackling organised crime and corruption by working closely with the Moldovan Government to help achieve these goals. It was also revealed that the British Government is also financing seven projects at a total of $500 million in this financial year as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s ‘Strategic Programme Fund: Reuniting Europe’, which includes schemes for supporting the media to highlight corrupting, assisting the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to help meet European Union standards and boosting Moldovan exports in the rest of the continent.

A lot was also spoken of Moldova’s aspirations of joining the EU in the future, yet Mr Mitchell conceded that it had a long and difficult road ahead of it if it was to become a member state. But he believed this could be achieved in 25 years if the government worked closely with the European Union and looked to stamp out corruption in the country. Mr Mitchell also stated that despite some Western European nations believing that the EU should not currently be looking to expand, that Great Britain was keen for the European Union to embrace all of the continent, affirming that Moldova has a similar agreement with the EU to the Western Balkan nations for ascension into the organisation.

He also believed that despite Moldova being at the same stage of relationship with the European Union as its neighbour, Ukraine, that the EU council was eager to develop closer ties with Moldova. One point also raised was the ambiguous status of the separatist state of Transdniestr, a potential thorn in the side of Moldova’s membership into the European Union, yet Mr Mitchell spoke optimistically about the subject. A European Union Mission is currently assisting Moldovan officials on the Ukrainian-Transdniestrian border, but believed that the situation could, and indeed would, be resolved in the future.