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| Anatol Țăranu | |
Only a biased person would not recognize the circumstantial character of Moldova’s spectacular progress on the path of European integration over the last two years. The war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine has radically changed Brussels’ perspective on the EU accession prospect of the countries of the Ukraine – Moldova – Georgia associated trio, offering them a European chance that was unimaginable two years ago. The acknowledgement of this reality does not diminish the effort made internally by the government in Chisinau to adapt to the conditions imposed on the candidates for accession. But it would be just as realistic to admit that without the factor of Russian military aggression in Ukraine, the tempo and depth of reform in the Republic of Moldova would not have allowed us to claim the quality of accession candidate, let alone the opening of accession negotiations with the EU.
Political class is obliged to protect citizens
The 2030 deadline as an end point for EU integration is a mobilizing political objective, but it also brings political profits in the short and medium terms. Such promises related to temporal terms are understandable to citizens who have experienced the Soviet way of life. Let’s remember only the promise with which generations of Soviet people lived looking at the year 1980, in which the construction of communism in the USSR was to be completed. We all know what that promise ended up with, the USSR collapsed. As Winston Churchill prophetically observed, politicians cannot avoid making promises, but they must be prepared to explain why the promises they made could not be implemented in life. It would be a pity if in 2030, the political life in Chisinau will be consumed only in formulating explanations.
The war in Ukraine has opened the doors of the EU for Moldova, but it also causes a lot of risks with hard-to-calculate consequences. The Moldovan political class has the obligation to prevent and protect the citizens against possible tragedies that may spill over from Ukraine into our country as a result of the Russian war of aggression. Under the danger of imminent threats, Romanian politicians on both banks of the Prut River have the duty to examine all scenarios, all options that guarantee all the citizens of the two Romanian states safety and trust, and these can only be ensured by assuming a national reunification project.
Two paths of integration and risk of absenteeism
Unlike other states aspiring to integration into the EU, the Republic of Moldova has a unique privilege to choose between two options for joining the community. These two paths of integration have their supporters in the Moldovan political class, being represented by Eurosovereignists – the option of European integration as a sovereign state, and Eurounionists – integration into the EU by carrying out the project of national unity through the political union of the Republic of Moldova with Romania. Sociological surveys show an approximate parity of these two options of European integration among voters with European views, given that politically only the Eurosovereignist option is officially represented at parliamentary and governmental levels.
This situation arose after, in the previous presidential and parliamentary elections, the Eurounionists, in the absence of a charismatic leader and a unified unionist political force, massively voted for candidate Maia Sandu and for PAS as well. However, the difficulties and slippages of the current government in promoting the reform have caused disappointment and the feeling of political distrust in consistent segments of voters with European views in relation to the current Eurosovereignist government. Against this background, there is a danger of electoral absenteeism on the segment of Europeanist voters.
The risk of absenteeism among voters with unionist views can be overcome by mobilizing this electoral segment along the lines of a Euro-unionist message, which guarantees the safe European integration of the Republic of Moldova through Romania. Under the danger of imminent threats of return to government of pro-Russian and anti-European forces, the Europeanist politicians in the Republic of Moldova are obliged to examine all scenarios, all options that can guarantee the perpetuation of the European course, and these can be secured only by mobilizing to the maximum the electoral activism of the Eurounionists through the assumed political manifestation of a project of Romanian national reunification.
Binding commitments for Eurounionist candidate for President
The presence of the Eurounionist message in this year’s presidential campaign will be a firm manifestation on this electoral mobilization dimension, which implies the recognition and political promotion of the following commitments:
- Historically, the Republic of Moldova, through its majority population, is part of the Romanian ethno-cultural area;
- After the annexation of Moldova eastward the Prut River to the Russian Empire and especially to the Soviet Empire, the native population was subjected to the process of deconstruction/identity construction of colonial origin based on the anti-Romanian Moldovan concept;
- The complete decolonization of the Republic of Moldova through its Europeanization can be achieved by affirming the Romanian identity of the state and the majority population;
- The implementation of the national unity project through the political union of the two Romanian states is the shortest and safest way of European integration of the Republic of Moldova;
- The President will promote through domestic and foreign policy powers the Romanian identity of the state and the need to restore national unity through the Union;
- The union of two Romanian states signifies the evolution of Moldovan statehood eastward the Prut River in its superior historical phase – the unified national state;
- The President will promote through political powers the economic, social, cultural and other advantages of the Union for all citizens of the Republic of Moldova;
- The Union will be carried out in accordance with the Constitutions and laws of the Republic of Moldova and Romania;
- The Union will comprehensively guarantee the ethno-cultural and other rights of national minorities in accordance with advanced EU standards;
- In case of perpetuation of the separatist regime in the districts on the left bank of the Nistru, the participation of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova in the Union will be ensured in a postponed formula, after the demilitarization, decriminalization and democratization of the territory under international control;
- If the Gagauz population renounces the Union in accordance with the autonomous unit’s right to self-determination, the area will be politically and economically enclaved, with the population periodically giving the right to revise the political state of the area by referendum.
The electoral debate on the option of restoring Romanian national unity will certainly contribute to the massive mobilization of voters with pro-Romanian views in both of the future elections – the presidential election and the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova - thus ensuring the electoral victory of the pro-European forces and preserving the intact character of the European course.
IPN publishes in the Op-Ed rubric opinion pieces submitted by authors not affiliated with our editorial board. The opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily coincide with the opinions of our editorial board.