Marian Lupu skeptical that Moldova will get visa-free regime with EU in 1-2 years

Head of Parliament Marian Lupu is skeptical about Moldova’s chances of obtaining a liberalized visa regime with the European Union in 1-2 years. “It is naivety to believe that Moldova will get a visa-free regime in 1-2 years. Maybe somebody tries to make society have such illusions so as to distract attention from the real priorities. But such a tactic is very dangerous,” Marian Lupu told the press on Saturday after an event, Info-Prim Neo reports. He said that the visa regime procedures may be facilitated in the short term, but the regime will not be liberalized so soon. The statements were made in the context of the discussions about the new version of the draft Antidiscrimination Law whose adoption is a condition imposed by the EU for liberalizing the visa regime. The Speaker is convinced that the Antidiscrimination Law can be passed by Parliament without the phrase ‘sexual orientation’. If they insist on another form, the law may not be adopted. “Nobody should tell us what the law must contain. It is the meaning and the legal norm that count,” said Marian Lupu. According to him, without the phrase ‘sexual orientation’, the bill can ensure the principle of nondiscrimination assumed by the Moldovan authorities. “The law refers to the access to education, medical and public services. A chapter centers on the work of a council that will supervise the nondiscrimination principles. It’s not appropriate to include such a phrase in the law,” stated Marian Lupu. As to the information that the EU imposes insurmountable conditions on the countries that apply for a liberalized visa regime, Marian Lupu said that these are unofficial statements. “If the EU understands the situation in our country and accepts the idea that the legal effects will be achieved by this law, the thesis about insurmountable conditions will not exist. If they will insist on the phrase ‘sexual orientation’, the situation will be more difficult,” he stated. On May 4, the Ministry of Justice issued a community, saying that it formulated a new version of the draft law on the prevention and combating of discrimination, known as the Antidiscrimination Law, and sent it to all the institutions of the central administration for approval. The bill was also published on the Ministry’s website. The Ministry said that they took account of the recommendations made by European institutions, which warned that the exclusion of any of the criterion formulated in the bill will equally affect the fundamental human rights and, thus, the integrity of the future law. The initial version of the bill said that no person can be discriminated on grounds of religion, race, color, nationality, ethnicity, language, age, sex, political beliefs, and sexual orientation. The Orthodox Church staged multiple protests, demanding excluding the phrase ‘sexual orientation’.