The enshrining of the European course in the Constitution would have meant that the Republic of Moldova chose the European development course and this wouldn’t have implied the submission of an application for EU membership by the Moldovan authorities in a year or two years, Vitalie Gamurari, spokesman for the PDM, stated in the public debate “European integration in Constitution and in life” that was the 95th installment of the series “Developing political culture by public debates” staged by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.
According to him, the Association Agreement is the main document, the international treaty that produces mandatory legal effects for the Republic of Moldova, while the introduction of this formula in the Constitution does not run counter to the obligations assumed by the Republic of Moldova and does not imply the refusal to have particular relations with other states that are not EU members. “We speak about those good practices, markets where such key principles as democracy, human right, competition rights and all those elements in the EU that are attractive for the Republic of Moldova to develop in the same context as other states,” noted Vitalie Gamurari.
He said the proposal to insert the European course in the Constitution was formulated a year ago and this idea was clearly and categorically promoted. Furthermore, this idea was supported not only by the Democratic Party, but also by other pro-European parties. Besides the held debates, as the representative of the academia, he staged roundtable meetings on the issue with the involvement of constitutional law experts and experts in political sciences during which it was clearly noted that the insertion of this course in the Constitution does not run counter to the constitutional provisions.
As to the assertion that the Democratic Party applies “the European integration” phrase for the upcoming parliamentary elections, Vitalie Gamurari said the ruling party must present concrete results in the election campaign and does not come with a particular statement that it would use later. “If you did nothing, you are penalized and the effects are rather severe,” he stated, noting the PDM formulated an idea that it saw was supported by all the pro-European parties and it seems strange that this wasn’t supported by the given parties.
He considers the amendment of the constitutional provision concerning the name of the official language would have led to division. “Not even the PDM is united on this matter. This is a rather sensitive issue. We centered firmly on a very clear subject, especially in the case of the PLDM and PL that always declared they are pro-EU,” stated Vitalie Gamurari. Commenting on the assertions that the Democratic Party monopolized the power and works in a dictatorial or authoritarian format, the spokesman for the PDM inquired why the PDM would need to subscribe to the European course and to come closer to the EU if there are no such principles in the EU.
Spaking about the Moldova – EU Association Agreement, Vitalie Gamurari said that from legal viewpoint the unilateral scrapping of an international treaty leads to the imposition of political or other types of penalties on the part of the other participant. “The positive and negative effects of the Association Agreement and other documents signed with the EU before the signing of the Association Agreement are felt after a particular period. Not all the current effects resulted from the period during which the Democratic Party governed the Republic of Moldova. Some of the effects derive from previous activities. International practice shows the positive effects are used by those who didn’t implement them, but this is politics and each party is to assume responsibility,” he stated.
The spokesman for the PDM considers the non-insertion of the European course in the Constitution will not produce any effect at international level as the Republic of Moldova should first of all fulfill the obligations assumed at international level, through the Association Agreement. The national effects are related to the election campaign and the voters will decide how to act in relation to the parties that took part or not in the vote in Parliament.
The debate “European integration in Constitution and in life” forms part of the series of public debates held by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova as part of the project “Developing political culture by public debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
