The political control over the law enforcement bodies makes the rooting out of corruption at the highest level impossible, Romanian anticorruption expert Laura Stefan said in a conference entitled “Anticorruption: Current situation and case study of Romania”. The event was organized in Chisinau by the Institute for European Policies and Reforms in cooperation with the Institute for European Politics of Berlin, IPN reports.

“We cannot speak about an efficient fight against corruption as long as the law enforcement institutions of Moldova are distributed according to a political algorithm. It is hypocrisy to demand that the prosecutors should do more in the fight against corruption as long as they are not independent. No fight against corruption is possible at high level when the prosecutors and judges do not enjoy independence,” stated Laura Stefan.

She also said that political will is also needed and this is absent in Moldova. “It’s hard to do what you expect from the politicians. The people have the tendency to protect themselves. We have two models – Romania, which used the opportunity to change itself, and Bulgaria, which didn’t use this opportunity. You are to decide which method you will use. If you choose the correct path, you can achieve results in five years,” stated the Romanian expert.

Laura Stefan called upon the Moldovan civil society and politicians to come together for a dialogue and to draw up a roadman for eradicating corruption. “There are no shortcuts. There are no miraculous solutions that would solve the problem overnight. You must set a list of priorities and stick to it. When we discuss corruption fighting, we must also speak about guarantees. Corruption must be combated by respecting the human rights, with independent investigations and with sufficient proofs,” she said.