Moldova Plans to Exit the CIS by the End of 2024

Moldova's government aims to practically conclude all agreements made within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) by the end of 2024. This announcement was made by Doina Gherman, a member of the ruling "Action and Solidarity" party, as reported by Newsmaker.

Gherman emphasized that the process of exiting most agreements is nearly complete, although some issues may remain unresolved. The Moldovan government's intention is to fully complete the withdrawal process from the organization by the end of 2024, with a focus on the technical termination of agreements within the CIS.

In response to inquiries about signing a declaration of departure from the CIS, Gherman stated that the matter is under consideration and clarified that the automatic termination of agreements does not imply the automatic signing of a corresponding declaration.

"It is not necessary for this process to conclude with a statement or a definitive expression of our position on the withdrawal," said the parliamentarian.

It is worth noting that on July 20, during its session, the Moldovan parliament approved in the second reading the denunciation of the Convention on the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS. The proposal to withdraw from the Convention was put forth by the Speaker of the Parliament, Igor Grosu, who stated that the current policies, goals, and decisions of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly no longer align with Moldova's objectives. Another reason for this decision is Moldova's chosen European development path.

In 2023, Moldova was supposed to pay a membership fee of 5.8 million lei (almost 303 thousand euros) for participating in the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, but earlier in the year, the parliament decided not to participate in the organization's events.

Recalling earlier developments, the Moldovan government decided to establish a separate structure responsible for coordinating the processes of joining the European Union. The newly created Office of European Integration will be responsible for coordinating internal aspects of Moldova's EU accession, including aligning national legislation with EU laws and informing the public about the benefits of EU membership.

This office will be headed by Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova, Nicu Popescu. He emphasized that the creation of this office aims to consolidate deep sectoral expertise in areas that are often highly technical, facilitating the acceleration of the implementation of the acquits communautaire and progress in the 35 chapters of the negotiations.