(by Roberta Lucchini - Coordinator of the Studies and Training Department, International Diplomatic Institute) The process of approaching the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, which began a few years after the declaration of independence from ex The Soviet Union, at the end of 1991, is enriched, in these days, by a further piece. From next August, in fact, Ecaterina Casinge, head of cabinet of the Moldovan president Maya Sanduwill take up the role of spokesperson for the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, replacing his historic collaborator, Barend Leyts. The news – so far virtually ignored by medium Italians – was released last July 14, when, through a press release that appeared on the site websites of the European Council, it was learned that Leyts will join the cabinet of the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander DeCrooas Director of Communications.
The comments on the story mostly focused on the background of this estrangement, since it did not emerge whether it was the result of a voluntary choice by the person concerned or caused by a progressive deterioration of the collaborative relationships - among other things dating back to 2014 – between Michel and his historic spokesman. The header politico.eu, for example, in reconstructing the story with the usual journalistic approach that spices up European news, supported by sources within the institutions, with a captivating dose of gossip, precisely, political, it would seem to attribute the great tension that occurred in the relations between Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, particularly accentuated after the scandal of the “Sofagate".
In fact: whatever the reason for leaving, some issues that certainly underlie the appointment of the new appointee seem more interesting at the moment. Which, after a degree in economics and a master's degree in international relations and communication, worked at the PPE which Senior Adviser for Media Relations and collaborated, as Communications Advisor, with Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureşan, now chair of the European Parliament delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee. Furthermore, in the same period, you worked as editor at the magazine online EURACTIV.
What is striking, in the story of the appointment, is precisely the current position of Casinge who, in fact, since 11 July 2022, has directed the office of the President of the Republic of a third country with respect to the European Union. There is no one who does not wonder if, in the rich portfolio of professionals within the EU, there was not the possibility of identifying one capable of filling the post vacated alongside Michel; and, above all, if one could not be chosen from the same political side as the latter. As is known, in fact, he is an expression of the liberal grouping RenewEurope, born in 2019 from the confluence of Emmanuel Macron's party, The Republic on the Move, together with ALDE and PDE, while, as mentioned, Casinge has a certain familiarity with the EPP among her past in Brussels. Among other things, according to European Union law and for the purposes of recruitment in the job in question, the possible citizenship of a third country of the candidate does not matter. In fact, the general rule which imposes the requirement of citizenship of the Union, i.e. that of one of the Member States, in order to work for the European institutions, even as a temporary agent, is subject to a derogation, granted by the competent authority, at each institution, to conclude contracts. That's what the Regime applicable to other Agents of the European Union, which deals, among others, with recruitment to carry out duties for an elected president of an institution, for a political group in the European Parliament or as a parliamentary assistant. In the case of the European Council, then, it is probable that the authority vested with the power of derogation has been identified in its own president, that is to say in Michel. However, it cannot be excluded that, in the present case, there will be no room for derogations, given that Casinge, except for having dual citizenship from birth, spent 14 years in the positions described above, as also reported by Moldovan press sources , probably staying in the Belgian capital. He could therefore easily have met the conditions set by the legislation of the Kingdom to assume its citizenship.
Be that as it may, a question such as the one described cannot be classified as a simple turnover, however physiological, within an institution of the European Union. Rather, it should be analyzed in the broader context of neighborly relations with third countries, moreover in a particularly insidious quadrant, such as the glowing eastern border of the European Union. After all, how much relations with the Republic of Moldova are considered sensitive and worthy of attention, as demonstrated by the acceleration towards the accession process, the propellant of which is represented by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and of which the appointment of Casinge can only be read as a further, more recent manifestation . In order to reconstruct the origins of this process, it is necessary to go back about thirty years, i.e. to the partnership and cooperation agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, on the one hand, and the Republic of Moldova, on the other , signed in Brussels on 28 November 1994 and renewed in 1998. The subsequent deepening of bilateral relations materialized in the Association Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), which entered fully into force in 2016 but was negotiated between the 2013 and 2014, just as, in the neighboring Ukraine, protests were unleashed, known as Euromaidan, against the interruption by President Janukovic of the negotiations for a similar agreement. The DCFTA has established an assiduous dialogue with the Union, aimed above all at promoting reforms aimed at achieving Moldova's "European aspirations", pursuing gradual economic integration and political association, with respect for fundamental freedoms, human rights and in particular those of minorities, the application of democratic principles, the rule of law and good governance. These problems are constantly discussed during the association councils envisaged by the agreement, the last of which, the seventh, was held last February. All of this, translated into monetary terms, has led, for the period 2014-2021, to the granting of 512 million euros as subsidies from the European Neighborhood Instrument and 160 million charged to Macro-Financial Assistance Program such as loans and grants for socio-economic development (source: European Commission).
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, further initiatives have been put in place, the most significant and emblematic of which was the granting of the status as a candidate country for accession, in the European Council of June 2022, following the request submitted on March 3, 2022, a few days after the start of the Russian "special operation" on Ukrainian soil. Furthermore, faced with a flow of approximately 450.000 refugees who fled the war, out of a population of 2 million 600 thousand inhabitants, EU support concentrated on humanitarian aid (13 million Euros), on support for people in escape from invasion (€15 million) and border management (€15 million). To these sums, up to 2022, according to data provided by the European Commission, approximately 400 million euros have been added, to support the budget, security and energy efficiency, the cybersecurity ae the fight against disinformation, the modernization of the armed forces to help civilians in crisis, the independence of medium, macro-financial assistance, support on the road to resilience, recovery and reforms. However, several open problems remain, in relation to justice reform, the fight against corruption and the interference of strong interests in political, economic and public life, the fight against organized crime, the strengthening of the protection of vulnerable minorities, including of gender equality and the persecution of violence against women.
In any case, great confidence is placed in the strongly pro-European line of President Sandu, also supported by a Parliament, renewed in 2021, in which the pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) prevails. The great alarm launched, then, last February for the suspicion of a coup d'état, supported by the Kremlin, and which is certainly among the reasons behind the decision of the Moldovan government, taken a few hours ago, to reduce the personnel of embassy from 84 to 25 units, has done nothing but intensify the summit meetings, already increased since last year, with the presidents of the Commission and the European Council, both in Brussels and in Chisinau, where, emblematically, the last June 1, the second meeting of the European Political Community, with the participation of 45 heads of state and government. Tangible, therefore, is the proof of a mutual interest in consolidating integration: "We believe we can save our democracy only by joining the EU", Sandu declared a few hours before the start of the meeting of the CPE.
The Union, for its own account, has every intention of not leaving further areas of expansion for Russia, even if it is a matter of "€uro suasion” and disseminating values and best practices, to lift out of extreme poverty one of the European countries with the lowest economic indicators and the most marked backwardness (as a guideline, GDP per capita as of April 2023: 6.340 USD against a European average of 34.000 USD, according to IMF data), which, precisely, is Moldova. On whose territory, however, the burning reality of Transnistria also persists, a pro-Russian region that proclaimed itself independent since 1990, which in 2014 asked for annexation to the Russian Federation (refused by Putin) and for which the European Union envisages, instead, one status special, but within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova. It hosts on its territory a contingent of about 1500 Russian soldiers, it is energetically dependent on Russia, but 67% of its exports are destined for the European Union (source: ICE-ITA). Certainly, the Moldovan and European plans for entry into the Union will not be able to ignore the normalization of this internal situation, which risks re-proposing a script similar to the one already experienced in Donbass, although the Moldovan territory, unlike the Ukrainian one, is less attractive in terms of vastness and richness of raw materials.
Much greater, therefore, than the scandalous conjectures on the internal dynamics of the Brussels offices is the game, with high geopolitical tension, which is being played over Casinge's head: good work to her, good luck to our Continent.
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