Moldovan deputy premier meets EU co-rapporteurs

Chisinau, 24 February /MOLDPRES/-Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe Balan on 23 February held a meeting with the co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Valentina Leskaj and Ögmundur Jonásson, on a visit to Moldova. Attending the meeting were also the secretary of the Monitoring Committee, Sylvie Affholder and the head of Council of Europe’s office in Chisinau, José-Luis Herrero.

The deputy prime minister for reintegration thanked the Council of Europe for constantly backing Moldova in the promotion of reforms and approaching the EU, as well as in the reintegration process.

Balan touched upon the government’s short and medium term priorities in the Transnistrian conflict’s settlement. He also spoke about the current state of the negotiations process and its development prospects. The sides focused on maintaining the stability in the Security Zone, ensuring free movement in the region and observance of human rights, as well as the functionality of Moldova-run Transnistrian-based schools. The Moldovan official voiced concern over blocking the access of farmers from Dubasari district to their farmland located behind Camenca-Tiraspol route and thus violating their property right.

Balan highlighted the urgent need to resume the five-plus-two negotiations, without any pre-conditions, as it was a basic tool to find a comprehensive political solution, to ensure the observance of Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and at the same time, to offer the Transnistrian region a special legal status. He added that international partners played a very important role in boosting up the settlement of such a difficult process.

The officials emphasized the importance of all current dialogue platforms and the need to boost up the activity of sector working groups, in order to successfully promote confidence-building measures on both sides of Dniester.

Delegation members thanked the prime minister for the dialogue, voicing their confidence that cooperation ties between Moldova and the Council of Europe would develop within a sustainable partnership and cooperation.

(Editor M. Jantovan)