Scandal in Moldovan parliament over ratification of EU-RM agreement on crisis settlement operations

On April 11, the AEI majority in Moldovan Parliament ratified the EU-Moldova Agreement on determining a common scheme of Moldova’s participation in EU crisis settlement operations, signed in Brussels on December 13, 2012. The Parliament’s largest Communist faction and the socialist group stood up categorically against ratification of that document.      

At the beginning, everything went orderly. The Acting Deputy Premier, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leanca said that the Agreement stipulates Moldova’s participation in European Union-run crisis management operations, in particular peacekeeping and humanitarian ones.    

«Participation in such operations does not contradict to the neutral status of Moldova fixed in our Constitution. The neutral status does not exclude the possibility of taking part in peacekeeper operations», said Iurie Leanca.        

He confirmed that, really, participation in such undertakings requires considerable budget and extra-budgetary spending, and «Moldova is undertaking to provide for such financing».        

Communist MP Grigore Petrenco, Deputy Chairperson of the Unified European Left group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, called the Agreement ratification «a crime against Moldova, against its Constitution and citizens».

The Communist MP called upon the three AEI constituent parties to «stay away from such kind of crimes, and don’t use Moldovans as cannon fodder».     

In response to the Communists’ accusations, Speaker Marian Lupu reminded to the opposition that under the Communist government [2001-2009], Moldovan military engineers were sent for mission to Iraq. 

  Adapted from Infotag