© Getty Images / Carl CourtFILE PHOTO. Maia Sandu.
Moldovan municipalities controlled by "anti-European" forces will be deprived of funds provided by the EU, the country's President Maia Sandu has said.
The president issued the threat on Saturday while speaking at a forum in Chisinau that brought together some 500 mayors, although the gathering was boycotted by certain opposition parties."Regarding European money, I want to ask you: those mayors who are against the EU, do you think that the European Union should give you money if you do not support the EU? Where is the logic here?" Sandu asked.
All municipalities will receive "state funds," yet only those supporting Moldova's EU aspirations and "European values'' will be provided with money coming from "from the EU and taxpayers of EU countries," the president explained. Sandu also accused Eurosceptic politicians of populism, stating that some of them use "anti-European rhetoric to collect votes," while a "simple analysis shows that Moldova has survived and even begun to develop only thanks to the support of our external partners."
In recent weeks, the Moldovan president has repeatedly threatened to slash funding to opposition-controlled municipalities. The hostile rhetoric comes in the aftermath of local elections held in early November when 898 mayoral positions were contested across the country.
Sandu's ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) failed to score a decisive victory, winning 291 races, with the main opposition force, the Party of Socialists, led by ex-President Igor Dodon taking 144. The rest were taken by either minor parties or independents. PAS suffered losses in key localities, including the country's capital of Chisinau and the second-largest city of Balti.
Earlier, Dodon dismissed Sandu's threats to slash funding to opposition controlled municipalities as "absurd," stating that the external support to the country has not exactly been coming for free.
"The loans that the government is now actively taking from EU countries, in an attempt to plug the holes that have emerged due to the failures in the country's governance,
will have to be paid back by all citizens of the republic, including those who, according to Sandu and members of her party, voted incorrectly," Dodon stated.
Comment: The idea of
European Values may sound beautiful, but what shall we think of the practice?
For more on Moldova, below are headlines from the last few years:
The
Wiki about Moldova writes about the relation with the EU:
"Moldova has set 2030 as the target date for EU Accession.[186]
Moldova signed the Association Agreement with the European Union in Brussels on 27 June 2014. The signing came after the accord was drafted in Vilnius in November 2013.[187][188]
Moldova signed the membership application to join the EU on 3 March 2022.[189] On 23 June 2022, Moldova was officially granted candidate status by EU leaders.[190] The United Nations Development Programme is also providing assistance to Moldova in implementing the necessary reforms for full accession by 2030.[191] The European Union's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has confirmed that the pathway to accession does not depend upon a resolution of the Transnistria conflict.[192]
On 27 June, Moldova signed a comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association.[193] On 28 June 2023, the European Union announced a €1.6 billion support and investment programme for Moldova, as well as confirming reductions in the price of mobile data and voice roaming charges in Moldova by European and Moldovan telecoms operators, as well as Moldova joining the EU's joint gas purchase platform.[194]
Security
The European Union created a Partnership Mission in Moldova through its Common Security and Defence Policy on 24 April 2023. The mission seeks to support the government of Moldova in countering hybrid threats the country faces as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[195]
A memorandum dated 29 March 2023 stated that the mission aims at "enhancing the resilience of Moldova's security sector in the area of crisis management as well as enhancing resilience to hybrid threats, including cybersecurity, and countering foreign information manipulation and interference".[196] The initial mandate of the mission is expected to be for two years and it will be made up of up to 40 police and customs officers and judicial officials.[197][198][199] Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania, and Denmark have all voiced support for the mission.[198]
On 2 February 2023 Moldova passed a law introducing criminal penalties for separatism, including prison terms. The law continues with penalties for financing and inciting separatism, plotting against Moldova, and collecting and stealing information that could harm the country's sovereignty, independence and integrity.[200]"
Is it an exaggeration to label the EU efforts in Moldova a result of western expansionism? Checking up on what the Wiki editors have to say about
European Values, one finds in the Overview:
"Especially in France, "the European idea" (l'idée d'Europe) is associated with political values derived from the Age of Enlightenment and the Republicanism growing out of the French Revolution and the Revolutions of 1848 rather than with personal or individual identity formed by culture or ethnicity (let alone a "pan-European" construct including those areas of the continent never affected by 18th-century rationalism or Republicanism).[2]
The phrase "European values" arises as a political neologism in the 1980s in the context of the project of European integration and the future formation of the European Union. The phrase was popularised by the European Values Study, a long-term research program started in 1981, aiming to document the outlook on "basic human values" in European populations. The project had grown out of a study group on "values and social change in Europe" initiated by Jan Kerkhofs, and Ruud de Moor (Catholic University in Tilburg).[3] The claim that the people of Europe have a distinctive set of political, economic and social norms and values that are gradually replacing national values has also been named "Europeanism" by McCormick (2010).[4]
"European values" were contrasted to non-European values in international relations, especially in the East-West dichotomy, "European values" encompassing individualism and the idea of human rights in contrast to Eastern tendencies of collectivism. However, "European values" were also viewed critically, their "darker" side not necessarily leading to more peaceful outcomes in international relations.[5]
The association of "European values" with European integration as pursued by the European Union came to the fore with the eastern enlargement of the EU in the aftermath of the Cold War. [6]
The Treaty of Lisbon (2007) in article 1A lists a number of "values of the Union", including "respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities", invoking "a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail".[7]
The 2012 Eurobarometer survey reported that 49% of those surveyed described the EU member states as "close" in terms of "shared values" (down from 54% in 2008), 42% described them as "different" (up from 34% in 2008).[8]"
Is the joining the EU, or being forced to join really a wise "choice" for Moldova? Is the case of Ukraine, strongly supported by the EU, and its current European Values such an enticing prospect?
Comment: The idea of European Values may sound beautiful, but what shall we think of the practice?
For more on Moldova, below are headlines from the last few years:
- Leaked 'prank' calls expose top-level corruption in Moldova
- Post-Soviet state's president 'controlled from abroad' - opposition leader
- 20,000 protest in Moldova demanding resignation of pro-West gov't, soaring inflation & energy prices
- 59% of Moldova's citizens believe country is controlled by US or EU forces - poll
- Facing defeat, Kiev regime in desperate bid to expand war regionally and embroil neighbors
- Several thousand people protest against gov't in Moldova, demand resignation of leadership over soaring cost of living
- Western 'colonialism' taking a new victim - Moscow
- How the EU is cracking down on democracy in Moldova
- Russian foreign minister warns Moldova could become 'next Ukraine'
- Pro-West ruling party big loser in Moldovan election
- UN resolution seeks to reignite conflict between Transnistria and Moldova by calling for withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers
- New Prime Minister of Moldova: Russian troops must leave Transnistria, and the region itself must be demilitarized & reintegrated
- South Front Foreign Policy Diary: Unrest in Moldova - another Western imperial 'success'?
- Technologies of Maidan were already applied in Moldova in 2009
- The struggles of Transnistria and Donbass: Historical parallels and possible similar scenarios for the future
- Russian politicians criticize Moldova over deputy PM entry ban
- Poor decisions: Moldova asks NATO for help in withdrawing Russian troops from Transdniestria
- Post-Soviet state's president 'controlled from abroad' - opposition leader
- US-NATO military hardware forced out of Moldova's capital after public outrage ahead of V-DAY celebrations
- Moldova joins anti-Russian coalition: 4 TV channels fined for re-broadcasting Russian programs
- Moldova resumes gas purchases from Russia's Gazprom, just a few months after declaring 'independence' from its supplies
- Moldova the next clash between the West and Russia?
- Eurasian Economic Union summit in Sochi welcomes Moldova into economic superbloc
- Russia against expansionism: Foreign ministry criticizes Romanian PM over Moldova annexation statement
- Ukrainian refugees spare no words on Zelensky gov't, Moldova local calls 1st wave of refugees 'oligarchs'
- Moldovan President turns toward Russia, seeks to scrap EU agreement
- Moldova rejects Kiev's offer to help 'capture' Transnistria, President of Transnistria blames recent terror attacks on Ukraine
- Socialist politicians in Moldova claim president Dodon 'victim of murder attempt'
- Ukrainians forging fake Moldovan passports to gain entry to the EU
The Wiki about Moldova writes about the relation with the EU: Is it an exaggeration to label the EU efforts in Moldova a result of western expansionism? Checking up on what the Wiki editors have to say about European Values, one finds in the Overview: Is the joining the EU, or being forced to join really a wise "choice" for Moldova? Is the case of Ukraine, strongly supported by the EU, and its current European Values such an enticing prospect?