Moldova Within Wider Europe: The Economic Challenges

摘要

Beyond the success of the May 2004 eastern enlargement, the European Union (EU) understands the need to boost its relations with new neighbors, and this is now one of the top issues on the EU agenda. Brussels designed its vision of the situation as the concept of "Wider Europe-New Neighbourhood Initiative." In accordance with it, fourteen countries have been identified as new neighbors. The Southern Mediterranean countries (from Morocco to Syria) are in the south while Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and Russia are in the east. Of all these countries, only the eastern neighbors have a land frontier with EU-25/27. And only two of these eastern neighbors—Ukraine and Moldova— have aspirations to become EU members. The Republic of Moldova is a new European state, but with a very old history. It was mentioned in European chronicles as early as the fourteenth century (the Moldova Principality was established in 1359) and was taking part in the economic and cultural life of the continent. Now Moldova is returning to Europe.