Last week, President Igor Dodon was in Strasbourg at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Although the event was not a ceremonial one, Dodon went to PACE with gifts, as he usually does during his visits to Moscow.

Dodon boarded the plane at Chșinău International Airport carrying a Moldovan carpet which he hoped will help to convince the European parliamentarians to be more indulgent with the Chișinău socialist government. 

He hoped it might renew the European funding for Moldova, which is crucial to the survival of the Government led by Prime Minister Ion Chicu as well as of the socialist president Dodon. 

In the plenary of the parliament, Dodon spoke about financial support for Moldova and call for indulgence and community solidarity. Dodon tried to appear pure and innocent. He blamed former presidents, parliaments, and governments for all the ills, for colder relations between Moldova and the West. He was especially hard with those who governed for the last 10 years.

“They have compromised relations with the European Council,” says Dodon.

Nobody can deny that former presidents and governments did mess around. And actually since Dodon became president he set Chișinău against Strasbourg, Brussels, Washington, Bucharest, and other strategic partners.

Although warned that he shouldn’t do that, Dodon played Moscow’s game and celebrated with Dmitry Kozak, former deputy Prime Minister of Russia and Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs the fall of the Sandu Government.

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And now desperate to be taken as seriously as possible by the Plenary, Dodon praised the Council of Europe and made several flattering promises.

Dodon mentioned that Moldova supports the idea of ​​creating a united Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok and that the implementation of the Association and Free Trade Agreement is a priority for the current Moldovan government.

“We are entering a new decade. This is a good opportunity to rethink why the European Council was created. I am sure that, despite the uncertainties, the European project of the Common House remains a project that inspires and mobilizes.

We are firmly committed to building a developed, prosperous, modern state of law, which will rank high not only in Europe but also throughout the world. We have a new Prosecutor General, a professional, who, in our opinion, will bring everything to order,” Dodon said. 

Dodon added that under the Socialist Party rule Moldova will be a factor of security and stability in Europe. 

“Now, the main efforts of the President, the Parliament and the Government of our country aim at implementing several reforms, especially the justice reform and the fight against corruption,” Dodon mentioned adding that lack of money is a problem.

“I am optimistic, I think we will succeed, but please understand that without your support it would be much more difficult for us … At this stage, it is important that both we, politicians and our development partners, take the test of indulgence and seriousness, in order to succeed in carrying out the reform program,” he suggested.

PACE said neither no nor yes to Dodon. They are expecting reforms and then they will offer money. 

Dodon is asking for indulgence while Moldova is robbed and looted for 30 years in a row. And even if the country is a member of the European Council for 25 years, we are still under monitoring due to the chronic delay in the justice reform and the rule of law, and that despite the EU pumping huge amounts of money into reforms, democratization, and development of Moldova.

Dodon is asking the Council of Europe for tolerance, while for more than a year the Europeans have suspended any financing project for Moldova due to the lack of reforms, high-level corruption, bank robbery, and other irregularities that persist in the state administration.

To call for indulgence, when, three years ago, you promised to shed light on the stolen billion case, reclaim the money, put the criminals to jail, yet, in the end, do nothing, is, at best, mere insolence.

It is really good that, finally, Europe is no longer intimidated to say no, where there is no room for yes. 

Dodon went to Strasbourg rather as a formal president of Moldova, who has nothing in common with European interests and aspirations. De facto, he is Putin’s governor and Krasnoselski, the leader of the breakaway Transnistrian region and Dodon’s friend, is nothing more than a second Dodon, only for the Transnistrian region.

Therefore, it should be made clear that whether Dodon will say nice or nasty things at the European forums, whether he will or will not keep on his desk, in the office, the EU flag, whether he will look kindly at Romania or not, whether he will go to Strasbourg, Brussels or Washington or not, whether Europeans will have money for Moldova or not, he will never work for the overall good of his country, for its modernization and development. 

A democratic and prosperous Moldova means closer proximity to the EU and the exit from the gray area of the Community of Independent States, and this is not part of Russia’s projects for this region. 

And Dodon will never go against Moscow’s interests. We are in an election year. We will have to solve this problem in autumn.

Petru Grozavu