C.European foreign ministers call for fresh EU-Moldova framework

(STIRIN) - Foreign ministers from four Central European countries called on the EU to reward Moldova for its political and economic reforms by finding a fresh framework for future cooperation.

"The EU should acknowledge the pace of progress, Moldova's efforts and concrete achievements," a joint statement by ministers from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia concluded.

The ministers, meeting as part of the regional Visegrad Four grouping, were given a report on the former Soviet republic's progress by their honorary guest, Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan.

Relations between Brussels and Chisinau are governed at the moment by a three year action plan, signed at the start of 2005 with the aim to put Moldova on the right reform track, which is now drawing to a close.

"We want to discuss with our partners in Europe how to accelerate work with Moldova, what sort of legal framework we should have," Slovak Foreign Minister Jan Kubis told AFP after the meeting on the outskirts of Prague. "There could be a second action plan but we feel there should be something more to reflect the good progress made," he added.

Foreign ministers also said they wanted to find some way of easing visa requirements for Moldovans, many of whom have family members working in the West to escape poverty at home.

The Visegrad four, which all joined the EU in 2004, are due to become members of its passport free internal zone, the Schengen area, before the end of the year. While this will ease transport between themselves and other EU states it creates a new set of barriers for citizens of other countries, such as Moldova.

Moldova has expressed the ambition to join the 27-member EU but the country of around 4.5 million wedged between Romania and Ukraine is still a long way from doing so with no date set for membership.

Ministers also called on Russia to fulfill a 1999 promise to pull out its last troops and ammunition from Moldova.

Relations between Moscow and the former Soviet republic are marred by tensions over the Transdniestrian region which contains pro-Russian separatists and where Russian troops are still deployed.