The chairwoman of the Moldova Platform Irina Vlah said the referendum announced by the head of state bears no relation to the vote for accession to the European Union. According to her, it is a PR action in the interests of a politician, which will be financed with state budget funds and which does not bring Moldova closer to the European Union.
“On December 24, President Maia Sandu made public her intention to organize a referendum on Moldova’s accession to the EU. The Moldova Platform draws public opinion’s attention to the fact that the referendum proposed by the President has nothing to do with the vote for accession to the EU,” Irina Vlah told a press conference hosted by IPN.
According to her, the enlargement of the European Union requires a clear succession of steps for the new members. After the negotiations begin officially, years or even decades of internal reforms follow. The candidate country makes the EU legislation part of national law, demonstrates success in the justice sector, protection of rights and freedoms, including of the linguistic and national minorities, ensures border security, stability of the financial system and a competitive economy.
“At the same time, the candidate country negotiates the membership conditions – how much it will have to contribute to the EU budget; how national exporters will be protected and any other issues. The negotiation process covers a total of 33 chapters and is concluded only after the European Commission confirms progress on each of these chapters. The candidate country and representatives of all EU Member States must then sign and ratify the accession treaty, which sets out the conditions and terms of accession. I want to draw attention to the fact that only after this, the country’s authorities, if they wish, organize a national referendum in which the last word in determining the country’s destiny is the will of the people,” noted the chairwoman of the Moldova Platform.
In her opinion, today this goal is a distant one for Moldova and the actions planned by the head of state further distance Moldova from the EU. “This this is realized in Brussels and Maia Sandu herself understands it. A question arises, why does the President embark on such an adventure, misleading the inhabitants of Moldova? It is obvious that Maia Sandu takes this step due to the lack of results which she could present to the voters in the presidential election,” said Irina Vlah.
The leader of the Moldova Platform noted that, instead of real reforms, emphasis was placed on a bright, attractive image and “dream selling”. “A rally in support of the European integration, a summit in Bulboaca, a concert to mark the beginning of the EU accession negotiations and now a pre-election PR referendum. Hundreds of millions of lei is spent on advertising for a politician who monopolized the idea of European integration. The real benefit to the state is almost nil. Although Sandu’s initiative is meaningless in terms of real rapprochement with the EU, we, as realists, understand that the referendum will be organized anyway. Having the voting machine with 63 PAS MPs, the President has already amended the electoral legislation in this regard,” stated Irina Vlah.
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