Elections for European Parliament show how insignificant Moldova is on European agenda, APE expert

The elections for the European parliament had a minor impact on Moldova and its citizens, the event being practically not covered by the Moldovan media. Asked by Info-Prim Neo, Eugen Revenco, program director at the Foreign Policy Association (APE), considers that the absence of Romanian politicians in the area that is said to be inhabited by the largest Romanian community abroad shows how insignificant Moldova is on the European agenda, including Romania’s agenda. “Thus, we can draw conclusions about the position of our country on the global agenda of the European Parliament (EP) and see how far Brussels is from the Moldovan people. The European sentiment in Moldova is very powerful in opinion polls, but less than 1,500 people took part in the elections,” Revenco said. The EP is not a classical legislative body, but rather an expression of the sentiments and consultative forces. The formation of the European Commission, the approval of the budget of the EU and its special role in making decisions transform the European Parliament into a more powerful player. But, the effects of its intervention in the political, economic and social life of the member states and accession states are not immediate, the APE expert said. Revenco stated that the real value attached by the Moldovan government to the European parliament was clearly seen after the post-electoral events: the PRCM leader directly refused to meet with the EP delegation headed by Marianne Mikko; the current deputy speaker of Parliament Grigore Petrenco refused to participate in the discussion of the May 7 EP resolution, having a defiant and impudent reaction. “This is the institutionalized attitude of the government and this is more serious. Will this disdainful approach be changed overnight?” the analyst asked. The EU consumed a lot of energy on Moldova. The Council, the Commission and the European Parliament reacted promptly after the April 5 elections in order to reestablish stability on the Eastern border of the EU – a stability of any color and any type. The European Parliament tried to morally revitalize these strategic approaches by adopting a resolution on the post-electoral situation in Moldova on May 7, where it expressed the European institutions’ position on the events that took place, Revenco said. At institutional level, the Moldovan legislative body and the European Parliament cooperate within the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee set up under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement that took effect on 1998. There is no ‘association’ agreement with Moldova at least in a draft form. The European Commission was not empowered at least to hold talks. “Hence, the EP delegation in this interparliamentary cooperation committee will use the already adopted documents, mainly the May 7 resolution on the events that took place after the April elections. The Moldovan Government learnt how to imitate positive changes without making the promised changes. The PCRM’s attitude towards the EP resolution was clearly seen in the behavior and statements of the leaders of this party and, therefore, it will be avoided or taken out of context by them, the analyst considers. Eugen Revenco said that any mission and dialogue with the Moldovan government should center on such noticeable results as ensuring of direct access to the public television for MEPs and the Opposition, immediate stopping of propaganda, urgent implementation of the recommendations of the Council of Europe on media pluralism, etc. 1,409 persons with Romanian nationality voted in the June 7 elections for the European Parliament in Chisinau. 1,396 ballots were declared valid. 56.95% of the voters in Chisinau supported the PDL, 10.74% – the PNL, 3.94% - the PSD + PC Alliance and 3.51% - the PRM. 23.57% voted for Elena Basescu. The other parties polled less than 1%. According to the results announced by the Central Election Office of Romania after counting all the votes, the PSD won 31.07% of the vote in elections, followed by the PDL with 29.71%, the PNL with 14.52%, the UDMR with 8.92%, the PRM with 8.65%, and Elena Basescu with 4.22%.