The Association “Promo-LEX” recommends instituting additional filters in the procedure for granting Moldovan nationality to inhabitants of the Transnistrian region. According to experts of the Association, the constitutional authorities do not possess complete and truthful data about the persons who on January 1, 1990 were on the territory controlled today by the Transnistrian administration and about the persons born there during the last 27 years, IPN reports.
In an analysis of the attractiveness of the Moldovan nationality for Russian service members in Transnistria and how this can be obtained, the experts say that owing to the impossibility of verifying the “official” information coming from the Transnistrian region, the risk of manipulating these data for illegally obtaining Moldovan nationality is very high.
The experts of “Promo-LEX” make reference to a challenge concerning provisions of Article 11of the Constitution, which was submitted to the Constitutional Court in May 2014. The authors inquired if the deployment of foreign military troops or internationally mandated troops on Moldova’s territory ran counter to these provisions. The challenge wasn’t overlooked by the Transnistrian administration. Thus, a bill to amend the Law on the Nationality of the Moldovan Nistrean Republic was submitted to the local legislature in October 2016. This was adopted in May 2017. Among others, the law eliminated up to absurdity particular mandatory conditions for obtaining the nationality of the “Moldovan Nistrean Republic”.
Later, on May 2, 2017, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova pronounced a decision by which it interpreted the Constitution’s Article 11 on the permanent neutrality of the Republic of Moldova, confirming that the deployment of any troops or military bases, led or controlled by foreign states, is unconstitutional.
“Promo-LEX” says that as a result of these changes, the Transnistrian administration insists on the remaining of the Russian armed forces on the left bank of the Nistru by granting “Transnistrian nationality”. Conditions are thus created for foreign service members to easily obtain the nationality of the Republic of Moldova. The impact of these changes will be felt in time as these measures are aimed at strengthening the effective control of the Russian Federation over the territory from the left side of the Nistru.
Moreover, according to the Association, the last changes made by the Transnistrian administration can discredit the efforts to ensure Moldova’s security, including by the possibility of offering Moldovan nationality to Russian soldiers. The nationality of the Republic of Moldova could thus be attractive to Russian service members and other persons from Russia or the CIS. But this, owing to the liberalized visa regime with the EU, could cause difficulties in ensuring Moldova’s security and in the relationship with the European Union.
