09/02/2011 President
At the end of his official visit to Moldova (8-10 February), the PACE President Mevlüt Cavusoglu welcomed the willingness of Moldovan political parties to dialogue to solve the political deadlock. “Any solution to overcome the current deadlock concerning the election of the President of Moldova should be based on a large consensus of political forces. It is therefore fundamental for the majority and the opposition to engage, without further delay, in meaningful negotiations and to accept compromises in the interest of the country,” the PACE President said today during a press conference in Chişinău.
“Three elections and one referendum took place in less than two years. The country now needs political stability to make progress on the reforms it urgently needs,” Mevlüt Cavusoglu stressed.
“It is of utmost importance, that a lasting solution is found without blocking the normal functioning of Moldova’s institutions, in particular the Parliament, and in conformity with the Moldovan Constitution and laws as well as with Council of Europe standards,” the President added and invited the authorities to seek advice of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.
“A solution of this deadlock must also go hand in hand with work on a far-reaching institutional and legislative reform, including constitutional amendments where relevant, in order to establish genuine democratic safeguards against similar situations of institutional and political deadlock,” he stressed.
The President recalled that Moldova was still under the PACE monitoring procedure and invited both the majority and the opposition to concentrate fully on completing the implementation of remaining commitments and obligations to the Council of Europe.
He finally stressed that these reforms were also needed to accelerate the integration process with the European Union and advance towards a visa-free regime with the EU.
During his visit the PACE President met the Acting President of the Republic and Speaker of Parliament Marian Lupu, Prime Minister Vlad Filat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leanca, as well as the different political forces represented in parliament.