The Council of Europe ratified the composition of the Moldovan delegation to the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which was approved by the Moldovan Parliament, but contested by the Communists Party, the Liberal MP Ana Gutu said at a news conference on Thursday, Info-Prim Neo reports.
Only four of the six members of the Moldovan delegation went to Strasbourg. The Communist MPs Vladimir Voronin and Vladimir Turcan refused to go. Communist MP Grigore Petrenco also went to Strasbourg, but not as part of the delegation. He intended to challenge its composition.
In another news conference, Grigore Petrenco said that he will dispute the lineup to the Prosecutor General's Office as well. He invoked that the Moldovan Speaker Mihai Ghimpu sent a letter to the PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig, informing him about the composition of the delegation. But Ghimpu named the head of the delegation himself, which is against the law, according to the Communist MP.
Vitalie Nagacevschi, MP of the PLDM, said that Petrenco entered the PACE building, using an expired permit. Petrenco refuted it, saying he was invited to the PACE by colleagues from the Confederal Group of the European United Left.
The PCRM is dissatisfied that Mihai Ghimpu named Ana Gutu as head of the delegation, while Stela Jantuan went to Strasbourg as substitute member. But the Parliament approved another composition.
Ana Gutu and Vitalie Nagacevschi say that no violation was committed as the PACE ratified the composition of the delegation after reading the letter.
The Communist MP stressed that the the Moldovan Parliament should review the given issue and approve a new format of the delegation: 5 basic members and 5 substitute members.
The Moldovan delegation returned to Moldova on Wednesday evening. The PACE meeting discussed two issues concerning Moldova: the monitoring report on the July 29 elections and the observance of the EC member states' commitments as regards the functioning of the democratic institutions in Moldova.
Ana Gutu said that the examination of the second issue was postponed for October 2. The report will be presented by Ejidijus Vareikis so that the presence of the delegation is not obligatory.
Gutu said that the CE MPs made several recommendations as regards the work of the democratic institutions. They stressed the necessity of creating an inquiry commission that would investigate the April 7 events and welcome the release of the persons arrested after those events. The mission that observed the July 29 parliamentary elections said the elections were conducted in an appropriate manner, but not all the electoral contenders had access to public television.
According to Ana Gutu, co-rapporteur for Moldova Josette Durrieu said that Moldova does not experience a political crisis, but a constitutional blockage and recommended the Opposition to vote in favor of the Alliance for European Integration's candidate for head of state.
