The building of a team of experts, stimulation of reforms in justice and complete utilization of the external assistance are the actions on which the leader of the European People’s Party of Moldova Iurie Leanca will focus if he is chosen as Head of State. The candidate spoke about his plans in a debate staged by the Journalistic Investigations Center of Moldova, IPN reports.

Iurie Leanca said the President has the instruments needed to promote the justice sector reform. But an older idea should be considered, which is to invite a mission of European experts for a period of one or two years to give advice and to exert pressure so that the justice sector is really reformed.

The politician was also asked about the theft of the US$1 billion from the banking system and why he accepted to provide a considerable financial guarantee to the three banks that were later robbed while he was Prime Minister. He said he accepted to provide this guarantee because both officials of the National Bank of Moldova and foreign exerts assured him that there is no other solution as Banca de Economii does not have liquidity, the pensions will not be paid, etc. He couldn’t yet reveal this information because he would have caused panic.

The politician also said that the state institutions didn’t appropriately investigate the banking frauds. If these had done their job, the company Kroll wouldn’t have been contracted to provide its services, which are expensive.

As to the foreign policy, the candidate for the office of President reiterated his opinion that Moldova has a future only together with the EU. Iurie Leanca added that of all his opponents, he criticizes only the Socialist leader Igor Dodon because this misleads the people and says that the European integration has only negative effects and Moldova should be only together with Russia.

Asked about the relations with the Russian Federation, Iurie Leanca said that these should correct. So far he hasn’t heard plausible arguments why Moldova cannot have a Free Trade Agreement with the EU and with Russia too. The relations with Russia will not yet improve overnight, but he will make use of his diplomatic skills to obtain correct bilateral cooperation.

The Journalistic Investigations Center of Moldova invited two more candidates for President to the debates, but these refused. These are the chairman of the Democratic Party Marian Lupu and the leader of the Liberal Party Mihai Ghimpu.