The signing of the visa liberalization agreement with the EU encouraged other countries, namely Turkey and Israel, to liberalize the visa regime with Moldova. Given the spiritual and historical significance of the destinations from these states, the abolition of the visas can be considered a present for the Orthodox Christians from Moldova, even if some of them expressed their skepticism or criticized the rapprochement with the European Union. Such statements were made by the project’s permanent expert Igor Botan, director of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT), in the debate “Why does the electoral behavior of the Coalition count for the country’s European future?” that was staged by IPN News Agency.
The analyst explained that namely the EU’s confidence persuaded such countries as Turkey and Israel that the Moldovans deserve travelling freely, without visas. “Everyone must understand that the liberalization of the visa regime by the EU led to similar acts by Turkey and Israel, though we know that a part of Moldovan society opposed the adoption of laws that were needed for obtaining a liberalized visa regime,” stated the ADEPT director.
Igor Botan said that namely the Orthodox Christians, some of whom opposed the coming closer to the EU, will be among those who will benefit the most from the liberalization of the visa regime with Israel and Turkey. “In a Christian society, this is an extraordinary thing. Who of the real Christians would not want to go along the path covered by Apostle Paul in Israel, Palestine, Little Asia, Turkey, Greece and so on. This is a great present for the Orthodox Christians from Moldova and a moral defeat for those who speculated about the relations with the EU,” said the expert.
Igor Botan noted that not everyone will benefit from the new possibilities, but this fact does not diminish their importance. “Surely costs are incurred when visiting these places, but they inspire the people. This is an accomplishment for Moldova, for the people’s freedom,” he said.
The leaders of the other two parties of the Pro-European Coalition – the Democratic Party of Moldova and the Liberal Reformist Party – were also invited to the debate “Why does the electoral behavior of the Coalition count for the country’s European future?”. Only the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Vlad Filat accepted the invitation.
The debate of September 26 is the 33rd of the series of public debates “Development of political culture in public debates”. IPN Agency has conducted these debates the third year with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation and in cooperation with Radio Moldova.
