Marissa In Moldova: Academy of Sciences, Monks, and More Wine

This morning, our day started at the Institute of European Integration and Political Science at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. This is the superior scientific institute for research in the state, and only research is done here - there is no teaching. The goal is to prepare teachers and researchers in several different fields: European Studies, Social Sciences, Political Science, Demographics, and Philosophy. The Academy of Sciences is sort of like a ministry on a national level; the President of the institution is a member of the government. It is completely funded by the state, but has recently experienced cuts leading to downsizing.

Researchers working in the field of Europeanization and the European integration of Moldova have found that one of the main problems facing the country is isolationism due to its relationship with Russia. Moldova must make a decision between integration into the European Union or into the Eurasian Union, a newly forming federation of European, Russian, and Asian states being spearheaded and sought after by Russia in an effort to maintain some control over former Soviet states. The benefit for Moldova in joining either would be the possibility of developing an independently sustainable economy, which is virtually impossible without outside help.

Many researchers believe that the choice seems simple, the European Union has very specific criteria to joining, and the Alliance for European Integration in Moldova's Parliament has been, until the recent vote of no-confidence, working towards meeting these criterion and becoming a candidate for membership. These directives include strengthening the rule of law, forming a functional democratic government, creating an independent, sustainable market economy, and improving the conditions of human rights. There is no set criteria for membership into the Eurasion Union, which also faces problems advocating for human rights and working effectively with democracies on global and economical issues.

Sociological research data shows a 50/50 split amongst Moldovans as far as support for membership into each organization, causing further obstacles in the way of membership into either. The United States supports Moldova's efforts to join the EU rather than the Eurasion Federation for obvious reasons, mostly due to the European Union's mandate of a functioning democracy and the belief of the U.S. in the Social Democratic Theory that democracies are more stable and friendly towards other democracies. The U.S. is working with the EU on helping Moldova obtain visa liberalization, opening up borders to other EU member states, hopefully making a positive impact on the economy via trade and tourism, as well as establishing a free-trade area to help improve the economic landscape. European Union membership would also help legitimize Moldova in the Western world, increasing international presence and respect, which could help provide further economic trade opportunities.

One of the biggest obstacles in Moldova's path to the EU, aside from the Transnistrian conflict, is the recent collapse of their Parliament. Having an unstable political system means no visits from heads of state of other European Union members, and provides a virtually unobstructed avenue for Russian influence, further complicating Moldova's situation.

After our informative discussion at the Academy of Sciences, we were off to Capriana Monastery, the site of one of the buildings on the Moldovan money. This place was beautiful, and we were led on a tour by one of the monks before taking off to our next stop, and my personal favorite, the Milestii Mici winery.

Milestii Mici is one of the most awesome wineries I have ever seen, and houses the largest collection of wine in the world, over a million and a half bottles, in vast limestone cellars eighty-five meters underground! There are over two hundred kilometers of cellar at Milestii Mici, and the cellars are big enough to drive a car through! We didn't explore the entire place, but hit some of the highlights, including the giant barrels aging wine and come of the bottles that were so old they were covered in inches of dust!

After the tour of the cellar, we were treated to an excellent lunch and wine tasting, complete with traditional Moldovan folk music. Our entire group had a blast, and we could not leave without first stopping at the gift shop, where I was lucky enough to purchase a few bottles of Cabernet to add to my own personal collection, each of which made it back to Florida safely!

That evening, we were treated to a reception at a wine bar called Carpe Diem by Vernon/David Law Group, where we were able to talk to some local attorneys and their staff about Moldovan law and politics.