The EU Ambassador to Moldova Peter Michalko said during the four years of the signing of the Moldova – EU Association Agreement, a lot of effort has been made to fulfil the commitments and do many reforms, including in the economic sector. But drawbacks were also witnessed. First of all, the justice sector reform hasn’t been done, but this is awaited both by the citizens of the Republic of Moldova and the international partners. In this connection, the official mentioned the decision to invalidate the mayoral elections in Chisinau that was unexpected as the elections were held in a free and fair way and all the observers confirmed this. The statements were made in an interview for Radio Free Europe’s Moldovan Service that is quoted by IPN.
“The decision to invalidate these results and the vote and wish of the citizens prevented the citizens from having the mayor they elected and this is in contraction to the rule of law principles and democratic standards. But the democratic standards and the respect for the rule of law are part of the political preconditions assumed by the Republic of Moldova through the memorandum of understanding on the macro-financial assistance and are also among the main principles on which the Association Agreement and our relationship with the Republic of Moldova are based,” stated the diplomat.
Peter Michalko noted what happened also revealed the necessity of reforming the justice sector that was among the priorities of the association agenda adopted last year and that should be a priority for any government in the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, the created situation should be solved. The Moldovan side should find solutions for the people’s will and their democratic right to choose the mayor, the representative and to have this vote recognized and implemented to be respected.
The ambassador said first of all the EU expects the judiciary in Moldova to be independent and impartial, functional and professional, transparent and equitable. This should also be the goal of the reform through which the sector should go and of the way in which justice works in the Republic of Moldova. The respect for the rule of law is the main principle in the association relationship and this is stipulated in the Association Agreement. So, it wasn’t and isn’t possible to interfere in the independent activity of the justice sector.
“As regards the communication I had with the partners from the Republic of Moldova, this took place in the context of the earlier discussions where the Moldovan side expressed its interest in obtaining the first tranche of the macro-financial assistance before summer. There were held a lot of discussions on the fulfillment of the technical conditions, including following the invalidation of the Chisinau elections, the gravity of such a decision and its contradiction to the principles and political preconditions assumed by the Republic of Moldova last November as a result of an agreement,” stated the diplomat.
Peter Michalko also said that the first tranche of the macro-financial assistance hasn’t been transferred, but the EU will continue its projects that are aimed at improving the situation in sectors, in concrete areas, in accordance with more specific standards. More than 140 projects of the kind are under implementation.
