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Ion Chicu: We will sign Pact for Europe, provided “Euro-Atlantic space” is excluded


https://www.ipn.md/index.php/en/ion-chicu-we-will-sign-pact-for-europe-provided-euro-7965_1104029.html

The Party of Development and Consolidation of Moldova (PDCM) agrees with the signing of a pact by the political parties that support the country’s European course, said the party’s leader Ion Chicu. He noted that his party is ready to sign the Pact for Europe initiated by the political bloc “Together”, provided that the phrase “Euro-Atlantic space” disappears from the text of the declaration. According to him, Moldova must maintain its neutrality and any hint about the country’s entry into NATO is counterproductive, IPN reports.

The political bloc
“Together” recently launched the Pact for Europe - a strategic document similar to the Snagov Pact signed by the political forces in Romania before the country’s accession to the EU, inviting political parties to publicly assume the obligation to contribute to the European integration. PDCM chairman Ion Chicu said that his party supports the idea of signing such a declaration, but proposes a number of amendments.

“One of the four leaders of this bloc phoned me and asked me if we wanted to sign this pact. I asked for the text of the declaration. We edited it slightly and sent it back. The pact is called “for Europe”. We proposed that it should be the Pact for Moldova, a European state, because we are for the Republic of Moldova, not for Europe. We asked for the Euro-Atlantic notion to be excluded from there because it smells like NATO, which I don’t think is beneficial to the Republic of Moldova. We proposed that the European integration should be a process approved by the people and should not be monopolized by one party or one person, as it is happening now. We support this pact, but with the remarks I mentioned,” Ion Chicu stated in the talk show “Resumé” on RliveTV.

The text of the Pact for Europe states that “we need lasting security guarantees in a secure Euro-Atlantic space”. The PDCM leader noted that imbedding the idea of joining NATO is counterproductive for Moldova and the country must maintain its neutrality.

“We believe that the Republic of Moldova must remain a neutral state and any move we make to cancel this neutrality will end very badly for us. The danger of war is great now, greater than in 2022. Any move that would demonstrate deviation from the principle of neutrality will exponentially increase the risks of being engaged in a war,” said the chairman of the Party of Development and Consolidation of Moldova.

Since the launch of the Pact for Europe, the document has been signed by the chairmen of the Dignity and Truth Platform Party, the Party of Change, the Coalition for Unity and Welfare and the co-chairman of the League of Towns and Communes, historian Octavian Țîcu, former deputy speaker of Parliament Alexandru Slusari, and the Association of Veterans and Reservists of the Republic of Moldova.