Government prepares bill to legalize Transnistria’s numberplates

The Moldovan Government prepares a draft law to legalize and register vehicles with Transnistrian numberplates, deputy Interior Minister Andrei Pogurschi is quoted by Info-Prim Neo as saying in the plenary sitting of the Parliament on Thursday, April 24. The bill is to be soon submitted to the Parliament. Now the document is considered by international experts at the Reintegration Ministry, including by the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) at the frontier between Moldova and Ukraine. After a number of MPs’ interpellations concerning the wide popularity of Transnistria-registered cars on the Nistru’s right bank, a governmental taskforce was set up to check up the vehicles with Transnistrian numberplates. About 35 % of the vehicles verified are exploited by citizens living on the right bank, while the schemes of registering the cars are fraudulent, pursuing to import cars older than 7 years to Moldova, which is forbidden. The deputy minister says the traffic police are entitled to withdraw the Transnistrian numberplates and will do so till the relevant law is passed. The people buying cars with Transnistrian numberplates are forced also to “Transnistrian citizenship”, what is a crime allowed by the state of Moldova, said Democrat MP Igor Klipii, saying “the Transnsitrian citizenship” can be bought against 100 euros, cheaper than registering a car in Moldova. In response, the deputy Interior Minister has said: „If the drivers of Moldovan patriots, they shall choose to register cars on the Nistru’s right bank.” The Government approved, on November 7, 2007, of a temporary regulation on the free movement of the vehicles with irregular documents and numberplates, providing that, starting January 1, 2008, the cars with Transnistrian numberplates may not leave the country’s borders, and as of January 1, 2009, neither could they travel within the country. The owners of such cars are allowed to register them in Moldova obtaining legal numberplates.