Moldova’s European Transformation: Building Consensus for Democratic and Economic Reform
Introduction
After gaining independence in 1991, Moldova made a strategic choice to implement democratic, economic, social, and political reforms in order to achieve a European future. Even the country’s former communist government, in power from 2001 until 2009, adopted pro-European rhetoric; however, they paired it with steps taken in the opposite direction. In July 2009, Moldova made the transition to democracy official when a majority voted in favor of pro-European parties, bringing an end to Europe’s last Communist government.
The Moldovan path to Europe proved to be hard, maybe harder than anyone expected. As U.S. Vice President Joe Biden stressed in his recent statement to the Moldovan people in Opera House Square in Chisinau: “[P]olitical change is hard. Economic reforms can be even harder, especially when unemployment is high and prices are rising.”1 However, with the new determination to pursue political and economic reforms, Moldova can achieve these goals.
Dr. Ciobanu was Moldova’s Ambassador to the United States from 1999-2002 and currently is Eminent Scholar and University Professor of Economics at Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA.
The views expressed by the author are his own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). CIPE grants permission to reprint, translate, and/or publish original articles from its Economic Reform Feature Service provided that (1) proper attribution is given to the original author and to CIPE and (2) CIPE is notified where the article is placed and a copy is provided to CIPE’s Washington office.
