The European leaders made a brave decision picking Moldova to host the European Political Community Summit, thinks the historian and former lawmaker Octavian Țîcu.

“Let’s imagine the courage of the European leaders when they chose Moldova for the second meeting. Just think about it, there are three extremely complicated issues: the war in Ukraine, the fact that we have a frozen conflict on the left side of the Nistru, the separatism fostered by Moscow, and, third, the fact that we have a relatively unstable political situation inside Moldova. The instability is both because of how people have been divided over the past year about the war, and because of the destabilization organized by the Putinist parties in the Gagauz elections”, Octavian Țîcu said during an IPN debate on Friday.

According to him, the European Political Community aims to be a platform for discussions which would put both member and non-member countries on an equal footing. “They took into account the fact that certain states are not members of the EU, but should be part of an EU political dialogue, to discuss security, democratization, the energy crisis and so on. It is certainly the central event of the first half of this year, which will bring 47 leaders of this community to Chisinau”, said Țîcu.

Octavian Țîcu says that the summit will give a special impetus to reflections on Moldova’s future, even if there will not be certain immediate results. “Think about the impact that the presence of top European leaders in Moldova will have. This meeting will not immediately bring certain changes. From my point of view, the main driver of changes in Moldova is the EU. The fact that we are part of this community creates a clear alternative, and the exit from the CIS ahead of this summit is opportune, as it sends a clear message”, he says.

At the same time, Octavian Țîcu believes that the organization of the “European Moldova” rally by President Maia Sandu is welcome in the context of the EPC summit. “I am encouraging the people of Moldova to come out to this demonstration, not for Maia Sandu, PAS or any other politician, but for themselves, as it is a European holiday. Let us express joy for becoming a candidate state for EU accession and for wanting to be in Europe. It’s a call we made when we were fighting against the Plahotniuc regime, it won’t be a confrontation, but a celebration,” added Octavian Țîcu.

The historian noted that the rally on Sunday may be a good moment for pro-European political leaders in Moldova to understand the deep essence of what is happening and join forces. “This gathering can be the beginning of a political dialogue, we will see what message those present on the stage will have and the reaction of the people. I see a lot of skepticism and that doesn’t encourage us at all. We, from an ideological point of view, have only two political visions - one is the unionist one and another is this Soviet, communist vision,” he added.