Moldova's president denounces border treaty with Romania

euractiv

Published: 17 November 2010

Mihai Ghimpu, the acting president of Moldova, has described a border treaty recently signed by the country's government with Romania as "illegal and unconstitutional". The move heightened the political atmosphere ahead of early parliamentary elections on 28 November. EurActiv Romania reports.

Ghimpu, who has been acting president of Moldova since 2009 because the country's parliament has repeatedly failed to elect a head of state (see 'Background'), denounced the border treaty, the signature of which was recently hailed by European Comission President José Manuel Barroso.
Speaking to daily newspaper Stirea Zilei, Ghimpu said he would challenge the treaty in the Constitutional Court, if and when it is ratified by parliament.
The statements by Ghimpu should be seen in the context of forthcoming early parliamentary elections.
A poll published on Monday (15 November) predicted that the Communist Party would obtain 39 seats in the 101-seat parliament, followed by PLDM, the Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Vlad Filat, which would obtain 33 seats. PD, the Democratic Party of Marian Lupu, a politician seen as close to the Communists but who joined the Alliance for European Integration in 2009, would secure 16 seats and Ghimpu's liberal PL party was expected to obtain 13 seats.
The parties of former allies in the Alliance of European Integration have been increasingly divided, with the Communist Party, led by former President Vladimir Vorinin, targeting some of them as possible future allies.
On a visit to Bucharest on 8 November, Barroso welcomed the signature of the border treaty, calling it a "demonstration that Moldova is getting closer to the European Union".
Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi said that by signing the treaty, the two countries hoped to "discourage the obsessive allegations of some political circles in Moldova" concerning "an imaginary irredentist agenda of Romania". Moldova was part of Romania until 1940, when it was annexed by the Soviet Union.
The signature of the border treaty is also timely in view of Romania's ambitions to join Schengen in March 2011. Indeed, the border of Romania with Moldova, a former Soviet Republic, will become the external border of the European Union.
Politicians and analysts in Moldova have criticised the political level at which the border treaty was signed, by Moldova's prime minister and Romania's foreign minister.
EurActiv Romania quotes French Ambassador to Bucharest Henri Paul as saying that his country was not opposed to Romania's accession to the EU's Schengen border-free area, but that Paris wanted to see "a more positive, more optimistic" Commission report under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, put in place to accompany the country's efforts to eliminate shortcomings in the field of judicial reform and the fight against corruption.
Normally, the next CVM report on Romania and Bulgaria's progress is due in February.

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