MEP Adrian Severin: Moldova faces an option: either to Europeanize or transnistrialize

“Moldova faces an option: either to Europeanize or transnistrialize,” states the Romanian Europarliamentarian Adrian Severin in an interview for the British EurActiv, Info-Prim Neo reports. In his opinion, Moldova can join the EU faster than Ukraine, because it is a small country. On the other hand, it is a more difficult case because Moldova is hostage of the Transnistrian problem, says the leader of the Social-Democratic delegation from Romania to the European Parliament. “Their fight for keeping the unity within borders invented by Stalin prevents them (the Moldovans – e.n.) from progressing enough in terms of democracy, market economy and even in terms of national conscience. My fear is that the current authorities want to create a nation of homo sovieticus and this is very sad,” says Adrian Severin. “When they are challenging their Romanian origin they are not defending their state, because Romania does not pose any threat for the statehood of the Republic of Moldova. They are actually acting against their own cultural identity and since one needs a cultural identity, they will try to invent an artificial nation”, says the Romanian MEP. Asked if it was Stalin who invented the concept of “Moldovan language”, Adrian Severin answers: “Absolutely. This is what annoys me very much, that a Stalinist concept meant to divide a cultural nation was used by accident by the EU”. The former Romanian foreign minister adds: “The thing is that Moldovans have to acknowledge their identity, their national conscience -as they wish, nobody forcing them in any direction- , but not as a Soviet nation, for which there is absolutely no basis”. Adrian Severin opines Moldova should be given a European perspective and European means to progress. “We should try to decouple Moldova’s development from the Transnistrian crisis.” Also, we should try to come to an agreement with Russia, because all frozen conflicts in the area are part of a single problem: the post-imperial/post-soviet global status of the Russian Federation, concluded the Romanian Social-Democrat in the European Parliament, Adrian Severin.