Political analyst Roman Mihăeș said particular positive things can be found in the European Parliament’s Resolution. The European Parliament welcomed particular economic, fiscal and financial reforms and even congratulated Chisinau for the policy adopted on the Transnistrian region, mentioning six protocols in this regard. It also approved of the law on the disciplinary accountability of judges, which clearly stipulates the procedures for promoting judges and holding them accountable. But the criticism of the justice sector, corruption and the rule of law prevails, the analyst stated in the public debate “Impact of the European Parliament’s Resolution of 14.11.2018 on Moldovan political class and society”, which was the 96th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture through public debates”, staged by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.

According to the analyst, in political terms, it is a report without evidence. A proof is the inaccuracy as to the fact that the mixed electoral system was introduced by the votes of the Democratic Party and the Party of Socialists only as the Parliamentary European People’s Group also voted in favor. The author of the report based on which the resolution was adopted was somehow influenced in his assessments of the parties in Moldova. Even so, the Republic of Moldova and the government should learn the lesson of this document, especially as regards the fight against corruption and the investigation of the banking fraud.

Roman Mihăeș said he did a calculation of the votes by which the resolution was adopted: 396 MPs voted in favor, 76 voted against and 186 abstained. The number of those who voted against and of those who abstained is close to that of those who voted for, not as in the case of Georgia, where the ratio was of 600 to 30. The EPPP and ALDE Groups in the European Parliament united against the Democratic Party of Moldova and the Social Democratic Party of Romania. “For now, we have two governments led by two Social-Democratic parties in Moldova and Romania and both of these were criticized by the European Parliament as no one in the EP hides that coalitions ate formed there, as in any other parliament,” stated  Roman Mihăeș, noting what is important is for the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held in accordance with the OSCE standards and to be free and democratic as they will be an important indicator that could unblock the financing for Moldova.

The analyst also referred to personal sanctions that could be imposed by the EU, if the investigation into the banking fraud does not advance. “I think the Prosecutor General’s Office is obliged to provide society with a report that would be submitted to the Europeans too so that they also see how many cases were started over the theft, how many sentences are definitive, who are the authors of the theft. We speak not about the recovery of the funds, but about the prosecution of those to blame. The Prosecutor General’s Office has what to report,” stated Roman Mihăeș. He also said the last data about the fraud presented recently by the National Anticorruption Center chief in Parliament showed developments. “There are question as to the case of Shor and other cases, but we cannot say that nothing is done in this process,” concluded the analyst.

Roman Mihăeș said the attempts made by some to blame one person, Vlad Plahotniuc, for all the problems are a mistaken approach as this does not have criminal cases started against him inside and outside as others have. Even the European Parliament in its report said the Government led by the PDM achieved particular results. “I think there is place for a post-electoral dialogue between the pro-European parties, on condition that the elections are free and fair. The most important stake of the government is now to respect the law and to ensure free and fair elections. Not Plahotniuc or someone else is to blame for the current situation. The problems in Moldova have persisted since the declaration of independence,” he stated.

The debate “Impact of the European Parliament’s Resolution of 14.11.2018 on Moldovan political class and society” forms part of the series of public debates held by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova as part of the project “Developing political culture through public debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.