The Republic of Moldova must take quick steps not to miss the start of accession negotiations until the end of June, said Watchdog expert Andrei Curăraru. According to him, Hungary will take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1 and the Hungarian Presidency will be more reluctant towards all the processes aimed at the European integration, IPN reports.
According to the representative of civil society, the main responsibility now lies with the Moldovan judiciary, which must appoint a new prosecutor general and nominate judges at the Supreme Court of Justice. Moldova can start the accession negotiations during the European Council’s June meeting, if the last two recommendations of the European Commission are also implemented: the appointment of the prosecutor general and the SCJ judges.
“The ball is now in the judiciary’s court. The government has made significant steps. Of the recommendations formulated by the European Union, almost everything has been achieved. The justice sector reform must continue and the appointment of judges and the prosecutor general will be only the first step,” Andrei Curăraru stated in the talk show “In the Context” on the public television channel.
According to the Watchdog expert, the entire society is witnessing clear attempts to undermine the justice sector reform. The system opposes it from within, but the cleaning must continue. The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which starts on July 1, 2024, could slow down the stages of European integration and it is imperative that the negotiations be launched by the end of June.
“We witnessed at least three attempts to overthrow the system. We saw the overturning of particular pre-vetting commission’s decisions by the Supreme Court and the almost in corpore resignations there. Subsequently, we saw discrediting information accumulated about members of the pre-vetting commission. Now we see a similar move with regard to judge Răducanu. It’s clear that this is not the last attempt that those from inside the system will make and we can surely say that it’s not just them. There are many forces in the Republic of Moldova that are interested in the justice sector not being reformed, in slowing down political processes, those related to the fight against corruption. If we don’t go fast, we will miss a lot. The Hungarian Presidency will be colder towards any move related to the European integration. That’s why it would be ideal to go under the Belgian Presidency, even if there is little time left,” said Andrei Curăraru.
According to Politico, which makes reference to European diplomats, the European Union could start the negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine on June 25.
