At the suggestion of the Group of the European People’s Party, the European Parliament, with 345 votes in favor, 160 abstentions and 35 votes against, adopted a resolution by which it recommends the European Commission to suspend any foreseen payments of macro-financial assistance and budget support to Moldova. The MEPs consider any decision on the future payments should be taken only after the planned parliamentary elections and on condition that these are held in accordance with the internationally recognized standards and are assessed by specialized intentional organizations, IPN reports.
Presenting the draft resolution, Romanian MEP Cristian Dan Preda said no euro should be sent to Chisinau until the following conditions are fulfilled: validation of the early local elections in Chisinau, organization of credible parliamentary elections and investigation of the banking fraud known as the theft of the US$1 billion. The member of the Group of the European People’s Party said the leader of the PDM Vlad Plahotniuc and the party he heads are undoubtedly the authors of the decision to nullify the local elections in Chisinau. “The decision wasn’t taken by the court of law, but by the oligarch. The annulment of elections shows once again that the state was captured by one person and that the judiciary in Chisinau is used to resolve political disputes. Moldova is a state captured by an oligarch who does not want his affairs and the affairs of his clan in Chisinau to be in danger with the coming of Andrei Nastase to the City Hall,” stated the MEP.
Charles Tannock, of the Group of European Conservatives and Reformists, said the annulment of elections is doubtful and wondered what is the motivation of such a strange move given that the international observers affirmed there were no violations. “There is a political motivation behind. I and my group support the request not to offer macro-financial assistance,” he stated.
Rebecca Harms, of the Greens – European Free Alliance, noted the protests mounted in Chisinau are reasonable, while the invalidation of elections was a shock, including for the European MEPs. “I agree with the colleagues who negotiated this resolution. We should wait to see if the elections announced for autumn are organized democratically,” stated Rebecca Harms.
The member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Knut Fleckenstein stated that Andrei Nastase won the elections by 52% of the vote and the way he was treated is inacceptable. Those who are responsible for the invalidation of elections not only did harm to democracy, but also betrayed their country.
According to Petras Austrevicius, of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Moldova, which is an associate partner of the EU, is now a captivated and sequestrated state governed by non-transparent political elite, like a private company. The judiciary is sequestrated and the decisions concerning the elections in Chisinau are really absurd. “The pro-European view is only a view and is far from the reality,” stated Petras Austrevicius.
Helmut Scholz, of the Confederal Group of the European United Left/ Nordic Green Left, said corruption, the human rights violations, abuse of power and the theft of the US$1 billion in the Republic of Moldova go hand in hand and the state is not willing to clarify things. The corrupt persons can travel freely, while the other citizens are blocked in poverty and the oligarch are trying to persuade the people that there is no alternative. “This is not so. There is an alternative. We should suspend the macro-financial assistance and the thieves should be penalized individually,” he noted.
According to Siegfried Muresan, of the EPP Group, the Moldovan authorities are an obstacle to the EU’s wish to help the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. “Never in the past few years was the situation in Moldova so serious, while Europe sees and knows this,” he said.
Victor Bostinaru, of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, said the invalidation of elections is a revolting case of disrespect for the electorate’s wish. He condemned the assertions by some MEPs that the invalidation of elections is the result of political interference in justice and also condemned the request to the Moldovan political class to change the court decision because it is contrary to the rule of law. He noted that the game of Dodon and Russia is played by requesting to suspend the macro-financial assistance.
The nontransparent invalidation of elections is something worse as the free elections form the basis of democracy. But the decision to suspend the budget support for the Republic of Moldova would be a mistake, said Romanian MEP Andi Cristea, of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.
According to the High Representative of the Union fort Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, the decision to invalidate the elections deprives the inhabitants of Chisinau of a mayor elected democratically, while the decision to not organize new elections will diminish the Moldovans’ trust in institutions. The way in which the elections in Chisinau were treated are not a good sign for the national elections. After the invalidation of the elections in Chisinau, political preconditions defined in the memorandum on the provision of macro-financial assistance weren’t fulfilled and the disbursement of the first installment is thus proposed to be annulled.
