Moldovan president, parliament speaker, premier set activity priorities

Chisinau, 21 February /MOLDPRES/ - President Igor Dodon today met Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu and Prime Minister Pavel Filip. The officials described the meeting as constructive and absolutely necessary, even if certain divergences have not been overcome.  

At a news briefing, the three officials said that the most important topical issues had been discussed at the meeting. “Even if we have different opinions on certain issues, the state’s institutions should cooperate. I said that there are reservations about the results of the implementation of the Association Agreement with EU. Also, I informed that, on 3-4 April 2017, I am set to sign an agreement on cooperation with the Eurasian Union in Chisinau. At the same time, an initiative on the amendment of the Constitution will be submitted on the days to come, so that the head of state has the power to dissolve the parliament in other cases but the ones provided for at present. I reiterated that I speak out for snap parliamentary elections. Also, I discussed that the citizens should not pay the “stolen billion” and that a NATO office should not be opened in Chisinau, given that Moldova is a neutral state,” Igor Dodon noted.  

At the same time, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu said that such meetings were beneficial, no matter the opinions set forth. “I unveiled more arguments that the model of Moldova’s integration into EU implies a development of the country, with strong institutions, with efficient justice and a well-defined health system. We established that the memorandum Mr. Dodon intends to sign is to be considered; nevertheless, we understand that it has no legal effects. If we speak about a referendum on the amendment of the Constitution, then it would be useless, as the present legal framework has all instruments for the state’s institutions to work efficiently. Also, I specified that the snap parliament polls are inopportune, as they would lead to a political instability and more economic problems,” the speaker said.    

For his part, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said that the different opinions should not block the work of the most important institutions of the state. “We must be aware that, if we do not move forward, then we may get into difficult situations. We also held separate discussions on the pension reform today. This sees not only an indexation, but also a valuing of the pensions. I assure you that this valuing will be felt by each pensioner. As for the subject concerning the switch of the emergency loan to public debt, we will do our utmost to find those guilty of this, will elaborate a legal framework, in order to hinder such cases in the long run and will take efforts to reimburse the money. We also spoke about the priority reforms’ agenda of the government. We are presently the ones who represent the state’s institutions and we should not represent them through the parties we are coming from. If we want to change the citizens’ living, we must carry out reforms,” Pavel Filip said.

Also today, the officials agreed on the creation of a platform of discussions to identify the next joint actions to settle the Transnistrian conflict.

The head of state, the parliament speaker and the prime minister today had their first official meeting in the trilateral format.   

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor A. Raileanu)