The Government of the Republic of Moldova made a clarification as to recent meeting of Prime Minister Pavel Filip, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Peter Michalko and resident EU ambassadors. In a press release, the Government says the clarification is needed because the press release issued by the EU Delegation provides only information referring to one of the sides.
On the initiative of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet members also attended the meeting so as to present the Government’s position on the resolution adopted by the European Parliament. Below are the main theses presented by Pavel Filip in the meeting:
“The Prime Minister has firmly and repeatedly pointed out that the vote in the European Parliament is an incorrect one towards the Government and politicized, being inspired by two opposition leaders, who this way want to obtain electoral benefits, hitting the citizens of the country. The Premier specified that all commitments on EU funding have been met, including those that referred to the justice sector reform, and the decision to postpone the funding is unjustified and represents interference in Moldova’s internal affairs. The PM also made reference to the recent discussions he had with a number of MEPs, including of the political group that voted the resolution. These stated that the decision to stop the financing was a political one and had nothing to do with the assessment of the Government’s work. These things were also seen during the debate in the European Parliament, which was totally devoid of interest even on the part of resolution signatories, the hall being almost empty during the discussions, showing that the vote decision was decided long before and without wish for the subject to be debated consistently and by listening to all opinions. The Prime Minister also said that he definitely cannot accept this resolution of punishment of Moldovan citizens on the grounds that the Government failed to deal with the abusive requests to illegally become involved in the activity of courts that invalidated the elections in Chisinau municipality. The PM strongly condemned this type of pressure that was made on the Executive, providing further details on how this took place,” it is said in the Government’s press release.
“The PM recalled that the area for which some criticize now the Republic of Moldova, the justice sector, has been reformed with the assistance of European experts. All the judiciary reforms, which aren’t few, have been done in cooperation with EU experts and civil society representatives with European funds. The PM noted that if things in the justice sector go wrong, it is the liability of both the Government and the European partners who took part in the implementation of these reforms, which were fully implemented by our authorities, as requested. The Head of Government made a comparison between the judiciary and the banking sectors. In the banking sector, reforms have been done with the expertise of IMF representatives, but without the involvement of civil society. Undisputable success was witnessed in this area, recognized by all development partners. The outcomes of changes in the banking sector can be seen by everyone. The PM believes that the Government, together with the EU Delegation, should undertake a profound analysis of the justice sector reforms to see what went wrong in this partnership and if the chosen path was the right one and if changes should be made to ensure the same success in the justice sector.
“The PM informed the EU ambassadors that, despite the abusive and political resolution on Moldova, the Government will continue to implement the reforms it undertook and will even start new ones, including reforms that weren’t assumed under the commitments with the EU, which are needed to attract new funding, to increase budget revenues, to modernize important state sectors. The PM also assured the ambassadors that the Government he has led will remain firmly committed to the European path, which the only viable strategic direction for modernizing Moldova.
“The PM told the EU the ambassadors about the good economic results achieved by the Government in 2018, which enable to complete all the initiated projects so that the citizens are not affected in any way by the decision to propone the funding taken by the EU. It was also noted that it was not right to suspend funding that was also intended for supplementing food rations for children by an absolutely subjective political decision. The PM said political struggles should be held based on debates of ideas and arguments, not on measures against the people who are not to blame for the fact that a political competition turns into a cynical act or electoral circus.
“The PM also said that the Government had similar type of commitments with the EU, the IMF and the World Bank. In all three partnerships, the Executive has fully fulfilled its commitments so that the IMF and the World Bank recently allocated the tranches for Moldova, assessing the good work done by the Government based on the assumed and fulfilled commitments, not on political criteria. The PM said he expects the EU to do the same, not to be influenced by political games played by two opposition leaders from Moldova who, in the absence of other electoral tools, have also blocked funding for food for children. The Government is of all citizens, irrespective of political choices, so that it cannot be punished for issues that are outside its powers.
“The PM expressed his regret that, following meetings with European officials the recent days, he found out that the information disseminated by the EU Delegation in Chisinau was incomplete and asked for this approach to be revised so that the sent notes are objective and reflect the reality to a greater extent and the officials in Brussels can make a consistent analysis of the developments in Moldova… PM Pavel Filip believes that such unpleasant moments as the adoption of a politicized and incorrect resolution on Moldova should be overcome by intensifying the dialogue and understanding citizens’ expectations of the Moldova - EU partnership.”
The Moldovan authorities should find democratic methods to solve the unprecedented situation witnessed in Chisinau after the invalidation of the early mayoral elections, Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Peter Michalko and other ambassadors of the EU member states in Chisinau stated in a meeting with Prime Minister Pavel Filip and members of the Cabinet on July 6. The ambassadors informed the Cabinet members about the EU’s position following the invalidation of the local elections held in Chisinau municipality. According to a press release issued by the EU Delegation in Chisinau, the EU ambassadors reiterated the messages transmitted by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn in their common statement issued right after the invalidation of elections, and the concerns existing in capitals of the EU member states. They also reiterated that the decision to invalidate the elections and the way in which this was taken deprive the citizens of Chisinau of the mayor elected democratically on June 3.
