Vladimir Voronin: The two Romanian consulates in Moldova will not be opened soon

The Romanian consulates in the cities of Balti and Cahul will not be open in the near future, Moldova’s President Vladimir Voronin stated today at a press conference. The head of state believes that the bilateral relations with Romania can be handled by the diplomatic missions of the two states. In his words, the authorities in Chisinau are currently seeking free access for Moldovan citizens to travel to the EU member countries. “There are promises from the EU that by the end of the year there will be obtained the trade preferences and the visa regime”, Voronin stated. Referring to the citizenship issue, the head of state said the double citizenship is a step forward, but this should be solely a deliberate decision of the person, but not a step constrained by circumstances, by obstacles and restraints which the person can avoid by acquiring another citizenship. If there are problems related to visas or free circulation between two countries, these problems should be decided by the state authorities, but not by attempts “to forcibly influence persons to become citizens of another state in order to enjoy certain facilities. That is why we will adopt an adequate attitude. We do not forbid anyone, but we also do not encourage it (issuance of citizenship – e.n.)”, said Voronin. During the conference, the head of state confirmed the existence of a draft law aimed at limiting access to some key offices for the holders of double citizenship, specifying that the members of Parliament will be included in this category. During a meeting that took place in January, Vladimir Voronin and Romania’s President Traian Basescu agreed to open, within a week, two more consulates of Romania in Cahul and Balti. Basescu also stated at the beginning of the year that some 800,000 Moldovan citizens applied for the citizenship of Romania.