Die rumänisch-moldauische Grenze nach 1989 zwischen nationaler Euphorie und Europäisierungsdruck
In: Kilometer Null: politische Transformation und gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen in Rumänien seit 1989, S. 103-119
"Over the past two decades, the border between Romania and the Republic of Moldova has witnessed symbolical gestures of rapprochement, as well as bilateral diplomatic confrontations. In the wake of the euphoria brought about by the two 'flower bridges' in 1990 and 1991, the frontier was opened after Moldova achieved independence, reflecting pan-Romanian sentiments on both sides. These tendencies were short-lived in Chisinau, where privileged relations with Moscow soon replaced the Romanian vector of foreign policy. The recognition of the immutable character of the common border became a key dividing line between the two sides, with Bucharest still viewing it as a result of the Ribbentrop-Molotov-Pact which it considered null and void. After embarking upon the path of European Integration, Romanian policy changed. The open border was subsequently replaced by a visa regime for Moldovans due to EU conditionality. As bilateral relations between Bucharest and Chisinau worsened, both sides misused border issues as part of their antithetic positions on the existence of a greater Romanian nation. Only after the transfer of power from the Party of Communists to a pro-European coalition in Chisinau in 2009 and a moderation of the national discourse in Bucharest could the boundary on the river Pruth be reembedded in the logic of relations between an EU member and an aspiring candidate state." (author's abstract)