The acknowledgement of the Republic of Moldova’s independence in 1991 was a key moment in the country’s evolution. Meanwhile, the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova had been oscillating from East to West, mainly because of the lack of a clear orientation and the country’s serious economic, politic and social problems. The fact that in 2004, the Republic of Moldova became neighbouring state of NATO and in January 2007, neighbouring state of the European Union, drew the course of the pro-European policy to Chişinău.
For the Republic of Moldova, the first step in intensifying the dialogue with the European Union was signing the Partnership and Collaboration Agreement (APC) in 1994, implemented in 1998, after a long ratification period. One of the requirements of the APC (Art. 50) is “harmonising current and future domestic legislation with the EU legislation”.
The Republic of Moldova will make all necessary efforts for the country’s legislation to gradually become compatible with the EU legislation.
To see its dream come true, the Republic of Moldova will have to cross several stages. First of all, it will have to gain the statute of associate country, then candidate state, followed by the initiation of the actual pre-accession negotiations. This stage includes the adoption, implementation and development of the acquis communautaire. The final step towards the actual accession to the EU would be for the EU and the member states to edit and sign the accession treaty and to obtain the consent of the European Parliament by adopting this treaty. Further on, this treaty has to be signed and ratified by all EU member states and the candidate state.
The year 2005 can be considered of great importance in strengthening the relationship between the Republic of Moldova and the EU, when the EU-Republic of Moldova Accession Plan was adopted, setting the foundation stone of a bilateral privileged relationship. The European integration will represent the success key in the democratic development of the Republic of Moldova.
The joint transport policy is included in the White Papers: the White Paper of 1985 on the development of a joint market, the White Paper of 1992 on the joint transport policy, the White Paper of 1996 called “Strategy for the recovery of the Community’s railway networks” and the White Paper of 2001 “The European transport policy by 2010: time to decide”.
The EU has developed a full range of specific regulations. The main such regulations are: harmonising railway regulations in compliance with EU directives of separating state-owned railways, opening the railway transport sector by granting access to foreign operators, improving the quality of the services provided, interconnecting the Republic of Moldova’s railway system with that of neighbouring countries.
Since 2008, the Republic of Moldova has been benefiting from Additional Autonomous Trade Preferences granted by the European Community.
The Republic of Moldova’s key objective is the EU accession and the application of the acquis communautaire in the national legislation. The EU legislation on the transport tariff policy seeks to improve the operation of domestic markets in its member states by promoting safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transport services. Most of EU’s laws and regulatios don’t stipulate the establishment of specific administrative institutions.
In the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure (MTID) is the specialized body of the central administration, as well as the state authority in railway transport. The entire railway activity is centralised and
unilaterally conducted by ÎS CFM, the only operator and supplier of transport services. In order to deepen radical structural reforms in railway transport in compliance with EU standards, within the Technical assistance programme of the European Commission (Tacis 2002), a special project has been elaborated for supporting the ÎS CFM restructuring.
The development of a national sustainable policy on transport should be focused on adjusting legislative and regulatory frameworks to European and international standards, increasing safety and security, optimising the average travel time of trains on selected corridors, improving security, speed and efficiency (interoperability) for railway transport services.
In the railway transport sector, the market access and operation conditions are extremely restrictive compared to EU member states and are not acquis-compliant. Although within the commitments assumed by the Republic of Moldova during the World Trade Organisation, the country promised to open railway transport services, it didn’t carry out this promise. A free service exchange would generate competition for railways, which is currently dominated by the state monopole ÎS CFM. The activity in this sector is carried out based on the railway transport legislation, which consists in documents inherited from the former USSR and legislative acts adopted by the Republic of Moldova. Under the Government Ordinance no.582/17.08.1995, the railways are considered natural monopole due to their major contribution to the state’s economy, through exclusive rights of developing economic activities and controlling the activity in the area. Consequently, we cannot talk about a complex of legislative acts, compared to the EU. The applicability of legislative acts is a serious problem, since legislative acts are problematic rather than regulatory functions. Due to the participation in the Railway Association of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the provisions of the elaborated legislative acts are applicable in this association, being more of a necessity rather than a juridical instrument. The Railway Transport Code (adopted through Law no. 309 – XV of July 17, 2003) reflects the current situation, ÎS CFM being a vertically integrated structure which includes the railway network and rolling stock, while European directives stipulate the separation of railway infrastructure and transport operation, as well as opening railway networks for foreign rail transport operators. In the following period, a set of regulations have been adopted with the purpose of creating the legal framework of railway transport. The Regulation on the discipline of railway employees and the Regulation on the provision of services in the railway traffic of passengers, luggage, freight and own interest parcel traffic have been adopted through the Government Ordinance no. 238 of February 25, 2005. The regulations on railway technical exploitation have been approved through the Ordinance of the MTGD Ministry no. 90 of May 12, 2005. The following are considered to be included on the list of constraints for the Republic of Moldova’s railway transport: the lack of modern infrastructure, which elevates transport costs and increases risks for transit transport, low correlation of railway infrastructure development with the market strategy and demand for the development of this sector, the problems of political regulation of the Transnistrian conflict which hinder investments in the development of the European corridor IX crossing the eastern part of the country, the lack of investments in rolling stock, the lack of national programmes for developing transport sectors, by clearly setting priorities, the poor and slow harmonisation of the national legislation to the European transport regulations and practices, the existence of technical and logistics barriers for fast cross-border transit (especially for agricultural products).
by Emil Dănescu, PhD Candidate
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