Ciobanu on Exiting CIS: Economic Impacts Are to Be Analyzed

Chief of the Investment Agency of the Republic of Moldova Marin Ciobanu believes that Moldova’s exit from the CIS should be carefully analyzed in terms of economy. “I think it’s the right time, given the political situation. However, a calculation must also be made to see the consequences. Politically, it would be good for us, but we have to see the economic effect, since we’re talking about companies. We risk losing a $20 million or $50 million market. It’s not so much the 50 million that saves us, but the jobs that are at risk, because we have cooperation agreements with the CIS. If we talk about leaving the CIS zone, we have to take into account that we are losing 20 thousand jobs,” the Investment Agency director said in an interview with Nordnews. Recall, earlier head of the Foreign Ministry of Moldova Nicu Popescu stated that once Moldova joins the European Union, absolutely all foreign policy priorities will be subordinated to the accession process to the European Community. At the same time, the official noted that the Chisinau authorities are currently measuring the degree of Moldova’s involvement in the CIS space. Moldova was granted the EU candidate country status following a decision by European leaders at a June 23, 2022 summit. The CIS was created in 1991 by Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union to keep post-Soviet countries in its sphere of influence. It was initially seen as a formula to preserve traditional relations in the post-Soviet space.