European Parliament conference on Transnistria; other 'de facto' states

On 15 May the European Parliament in Brussels focuses on democracy and good governance issues facing 5 'de facto' states

BRUSSELS (Tiraspol Times) - After putting the spotlight on Transdniestria's de facto statehood during a conference in London last Wednesday, the country's head of Parliament is now on his way to Brussels where he will repeat the need for Transdniestria to get international diplomatic recognition as a sovereign country.

Parliamentary Speaker Yevgeny Shevchuk, 39, who is also the leader of Transdniestria's largest opposition party, Renewal, is expected to take part in a conference held at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, May 15.

The Foreign Ministry of Transdniestria (officially: Pridnestrovie) was also invited but will not be able to find the time to attend as key diplomats are currently preparing the ground for what they hope will become a successfully negotiated Friendship and Cooperation Treaty with neighboring Moldova.

Thursday's EU conference consists of a series of panels under the heading “Opening the World Order to de facto States: Limits and Potentialities of de facto States in the International Context,” hosted by the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.

Alliance of liberals and democrats

The conference will be held under the auspices of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, ALDE, a centrist coalition which is the third largest political group in the European Parliament. In addition to ALDE, it also has the support of UNPO, an organization for unrecognized countries which included Estonia and Georgia among its members before the two states achieved independence and recognized statehood.

The hope is that by discussing the issues of unrecognized countries in a neutral setting, new aspects of democracy and good governance issues in the de facto states will be brought to light. The event is sponsored by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.

Experts familiar with Transdniestria - such as Pal Kolstoe, Scott Pegg and Dov Lynch - are featured panelists at the event, which will also include representatives from other de facto states such as Somaliland, Taiwan, Northern Cyprus and Abkhazia.
From London's Chatham House, Robert Jackson will address the event with a presentation on security concerns. Jackson comes to Brussel with fresh information on Transdniestria after a conference in the British capital last week addressed similar themes.

Yevgeny Shevchuk, 39, spoke at London's Chatham House last week. This week he will be in Brussels.

At last week's event in London, Yevgeny Shevchuk was the keynote speaker at a gathering of foreign policy experts who came together to analyze the current situation in and around Transdniestria. The conference, which was held on Wednesday 7 May, was called "Transdniestria: Is a Solution in Sight?" and was a closed special invitation event organized by London's Chatham House, formally known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

18 years with same territorial claim

This week's event in Brussels takes a broader view and looks not just at Transdniestria but on the need for international integration of other de facto states as well. Although spread throughout the world, with participants from Africa, Asia and Europe, the common feature among them is that all these states currently meet the requirements for full statehood under international law but nevertheless have no recognition or limited recognition due to various unresolved political, rather than legal, issues. In Transdniestria's case, an 18 year old unresolved territorial claim by Moldova prevents the new and emerging country from effectively engaging with other members of the international community.

According to the organizers, the first panel will address the international dimension of de facto states, with each speaker approaching the function and practice of de facto states under International Law and in the International Community.

Next, the second panel will approach specific issues affecting de facto states, especially concerning health care issues, economics and security. Topics of interest include the challenges surrounding formal trade agreements, obtaining financial assistance from international institutions, and reducing security risks.

Democracy and good governance challenges

Considered one of the most important issues facing the world's new countries, the conference's third panel will address the question of Democracy and Good Governance in de facto states, and the challenges faced to preserve these ideals.

This portion of the conference will focus on the complexities of maintaining human rights standards, a strong civil society, and a working level of democracy in states that are politically isolated and unrecognized, such as Transdniestria.

Transdniestria is also known under various names such as Transnistria, Trans-Dniester and Transdnestr, deriving from the Dniester River which since 1359 has formed Moldova's easternmost border. Its official name is Pridnestrovie. It declared independence in 1990, one year before the creation of the current Republic of Moldova.

Both had been together in the now-defunct Soviet Union: Moldova since 1940, and Pridnestrovie since the Soviet Union was created. In the early days of the Soviet Union, Pridnestrovie was an autonomous republic. It did not include Moldova, which was part of Romania at the time. (With information from UNPO)

See also:
» British Ambassador visits Transdniestria; London conference planned
» EU Parliament group slams Moldova over gay crackdown; praises PMR

On the web:
» Opening the World Order to de facto States

Download/view:
» Conference Program (PDF)