Prime Minister Tarlev suggests Romania should cancel visas for Moldovans

Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev suggests Romania should cancel visas for Moldovan citizens. He told reporters on Wednesday, September 5, that since Romania is not yet part of the Schengen area, it should ensure impediment-free circulation for Moldovan nationals, at least until Romania enters Schengen. Referring to the recent intention of the Romanian Government to make the process of granting Romanian citizenship for Moldovans easier, the Premier stated that Moldova will be grateful for the attitude, but only after it makes sure of the “content and quality” of the promises. “We were glad to see the EU enlarging, but became sad when the process caused visa-related problems”, said the prime minister. At the same time, Vasile Tarlev gave to understand that he personally disapproves dual citizenship, although he doesn’t regret that the government passed such a legislative initiative. “Dual citizenship is not good. Every citizen of Moldova has to be proud of his citizenship and mustn’t flee the country when it suffers the most”, said the prime minister. Tarlev specified that he holds only the citizenship of Moldova and that he doesn’t plan to acquire a new one in the future. Referring to the Moldovan students matriculated in Romanian schools and their visa-related problems, the Premier said that the parents who decided to send their children to study abroad have to assume full responsibility for such actions, and that the security of these students is not the duty of the Government. He added that the educational system in Moldova is good and appreciated abroad.