Berthold Johannes: Another election campaign won't help Moldova and it will put a break on the ambitious program of the Government

Berthold Johannes

Interview with His Excellency Dr. Berthold Johannes the German Ambassador to Moldova

Your Excellency, Germany has been one of Moldova's key political and economic partners. How many German investors are there in Moldova and what do you think should be done to increase their number?

Some of the biggest German investors in Moldova are Knauf, Draexlmaier, Suedzucker, Bemol or Tirex Petrol. Overall, there are 144 German companies and 235 Moldovan-German joint ventures. Yet, we do not know all of them. Business does business and the task of politicians and administration is to make sure that there is a good business environment in Moldova. The key aspect in attracting investments is the rule of law so that investors could feel safe. But that is your Government's job and here the justice reform should be in the forefront. We really want to help you accomplish your ambitious transformations as quickly as possible. Therefore, the EU provides an enormous amount of money according to the well known principle "more for more": the more reform you do, the more money will come.

Talking about the problems of the Moldovan judiciary system, how do you think they could be solved and how German experience could help Moldova?

Reform of the judiciary is a very complex problem. It is also about changing habits and people. The Government has submitted a reform strategy to Parliament which will lead to action. We support this process. As to the legal environment for investments: When everybody plays according to the rules, you don't need a court. Yet, in transition societies, some people often see the chance to make money by not sticking to the rules. When Germany was unified in 1990, there were a lot of problems with crooks who went to East Germany to make easy money. So, it is a typical phenomenon for transition societies. But you need the trust in courts and their application of the law. The German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation for some years advises your government. One of the questions addressed was the independence of prosecutors and judges. They enjoy immunity, but part of independence always has to be a functioning disciplinary system to sanction those who contravened the law in their professional capacity.

Moldova has been facing a serious political crisis over the last 2.5 years. If our Parliament fails to elect the president, we will face a third early parliamentary election. Will this affect Moldova's image in the EU and the funding that we enjoy?

The Moldovan authorities have clearly stated that the EU integration is their key priority. This request was positively taken up by the EU and as long as this attitude of the Moldovan authorities doesn't change, the EU attitude will remain the same and the funding will continue to come. Of course, we prefer you to have a fully active Government for 4 years in order to implement their reform programs and EU road maps. On the other hand, new elections will slow down political processes and the will of bureaucracy to implement those plans. It is a general phenomenon worldwide that civil servants prefer to keep low profile in such times in order not to get their heads chopped off. Certainly, another election campaign won't help the country and it will put a break on the ambitious program of your Government. We hope very much that a new president will be elected soon. If he or she isn't, then we'll be waiting for the outcome of the parliamentary elections. It is up to the Moldovan people whom they put to leadership: whether the current Government strengthened, or another coalition. But these are simply speculations and I don't want to discuss them further. I prefer to cross the bridge, when I get to it.

Moldova has been promised to start negotiations on signing a free trade agreement with the EU by the end of this year. In this context, do you think the Moldovan economy is ready to compete with those of the EU countries? Won't it be suffocated by the greater EU economies?  

I wouldn't be skeptical. The DCFTA negotiations are under preparation and certain benchmarks are yet to be met. Your Government and the European Commission are working on it. Investors' interest will rise once you will be part of the EU free trade zone, and that means more money, more companies, and more jobs. It will be like an ink plot effect when the color spreads and the economy takes off. But it will take time, since it is not easy to meet all aspects of EU certification and standards. For instance, Moldova exports honey to the EU, but cannot yet export meat or eggs due to lacking standards.  The EU is a huge market for eggs including Germany. And Moldova could create the necessary conditions for certified production of eggs for export.

The settlement of the conflict with the breakaway Transnistrian region is a precondition for Moldova's EU accession. At the same time, the negotiations on the settlement of the conflict are in a stalemate now. Do you expect a breakthrough in the talks after the 11 December 2011presidential election in the breakaway region and especially if the election bring a new leader to power?

Germany is not part of 5+2 format of negotiations (involving Moldova and Transnistria as parts of the negotiations, the OSCE, Russia and Ukraine as mediators and the EU and the USA as observers – Profit), but at the initiative of our chancellor we do our best to get the Transnistrian issue to the highest political level and have it discussed at the international level. From 2009 your Government has moved ahead with confidence building measures. They are hard to build and very easy to destroy. We finally reached the point where Moldovan Prime Minister Vladimir Filat and Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov met for some hours in Germany last September and then at the meeting in Moscow it was decided to reopen the official negotiations. We cannot expect wonders to happen, but it is a first step to progress. The international community has a common basic position: the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Moldova is not to be questioned. You need to come to a solution bit by bit and decide how the state should be organized. As to the outcome of the elections: we will see.

Experts say that the conflict could be solved only if the Kremlin and Tiraspol want to solve it. What should Moldova do to make the Kremlin and Tiraspol to look for a solution more insistently?

That is a million dollar question! Basically, constant dialogue is needed. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin has recently visited Moldova. Foreign Minister Serghey Lavrov will come to Chisinau on 22 November. I'm absolutely confident that if there is will on all sides, there will be a settlement. Germany tries to help by convincing people to settle, that is why we have an intense dialogue with Russia. Normally, it takes two to tango, but in your case several partners are needed.

www.infotag.md