EBA members had the opportunity to meet with HE Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Republic of Moldova, Mrs Ulrike Knotz.
Ambassador presented the support framework provided by the Federal Government to the RM and shared views on the existing economic and political situation in the country.
Mrs. Ulrike Knotz mentioned that countries that acceded to the EU family, have undertaken a considerable endeavor for a successful implementation of reforms. In order to enable this - there is a need for a constructive dialogue between the public and private sector, where politicians would become accountable for creating the platform for enabling the business environment to develop. On the other hand - the business community needs to take over the responsibility for a fair and transparent financial management and bona fide behavior in the change management process.
Mrs. Ulrike Knotz reiterated several times the importance of a sound justice system, which unfortunately is identified as one of the most burning and severe issues by Moldovan business community. She described the radical actions taken by German, Romanian, Croatian Justice System in order to increase credibility of the foreign community for the country.
In the RM there are still a couple of German companies, despite all the issues they have encountered.
Mr. Ronny Bechmann, Adviser of the Prime Minister on attracting investments, mentioned a couple of projects currently funded by German Government. The first is related to improving the food security of RM through a cooperation with ANSA (National Agency for Food Safety), which consists in certifying any of the products oriented for exports to EU, covering not only agricultural products, but also animal origin goods.
Second project is supporting the vocational education system of the RM, namely the dual system of preparing the technical level specialists, this practice being already vastly used in Germany. Through a partnership between a private company and a professional school, students will learn the job related peculiarities in a more practical way.
Other TA project successfully implemented in RM is the Senior Expert Service. SES offers interested retirees the opportunity to pass on their skills and knowledge to others, both within Germany and abroad. The services of an expert are free of charge as they are supported by the German Government. There were already 60 projects of this kind implemented in RM.
As to come with an overview of the legislative situation in the country, Mrs. Silvia Radu, president of the European Business Association, mentioned that there is a Soviet Heritage of the legal and regulatory framework. The laws themselves are of European nature, but the secondary legislation, standards and procedures are either lack of application or Soviet ones, which are forming conditions for the development of corruption in the country.