“Any democracy, any free expression of opinion, any attempt to demand that the rulers should account for what they did by a direct dialogue is a healthy exercise for democracy,” said former European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Štefan Füle, commenting on the protests started in Chisinau on September 6.
In an interview for Radio Free Eurfope, quoted by IPN, Štefan Füle noted it is wrong for any politician to believe that they will no longer be suspected of corruption if they declare themselves pro-European. Füle believes that at a certain moment, the most important thing is for the people to be able to express themselves freely, while the authorities should examine the accusations with seriousness and, if necessary, should investigate them with seriousness.
Speaking about the reasons why the people took to the streets, Štefan Füle reminded that during many years the European Commission warned that the problem of corruption is one of the greatest threats to democracy, no matter whether you choose to go towards the European Union or to the Customs Union, while the fight against corruption is an endless one, which does not end when a country joins the EU and the example of the Czech Republic shows this. In this connection, Štefan Füle noted that not the ‘oligarchs’, who exist in all the Eastern Partnership countries, are the problem. It is the way how they are or are not integrated into the democratic system.
“The businessmen, who create jobs, have an important place in society, but they should not use the money to influence politics. If they want influence, they should enter politics. For me, oligarchization is a way of influencing the country’s course by other ways than the political ones, available in a democracy,” stated Štefan Füle.
Asked if Moldova is still a success story, the former commissioner noted that the success or failure depends only on the country. The European Union’s strategies were always based on the sovereign wish of the given country. “No strategy was thought up behind closed doors in Brussels and imposed then on the partners. We do not work like this...”, stated Štefan Füle during whose tenure Moldova negotiated and signed the Association Agreement with the European Union.
