The solution reached by the four party leaders of the governing Alliance for European Integration – to hold a referendum to amend Article 78 of the Constitution to allow for direct election of the President, dissolve the Parliament and call new elections by the end of this year - is the result of the lengthy mediation efforts by the Council of Europe and its Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, it is said in a communique from the CE, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. The CE says the solution was reached after it became clear that a broad compromise between the governing Alliance and the opposition Communists Party was not possible. The Council of Europe Secretary General was invited to Chisinau on June 2 and 3 to mediate a solution between the sides with a view to unlocking the political crisis. After the leaders of the Alliance announced their decision, Thorbjørn Jagland said he agrees with it. “If the head of state could' t be elected by two attempts and article 78 could not be modified in Parliament, it is the people that should take a decision in this respect,” the European official said.