Moldovan government endorses draft law amending Constitution by including notion of European integration

Chisinau, 31 January /MOLDPRES/ – The Cabinet of Ministers supported the draft law amending and supplementing the preamble and Article 1 of the Constitution, submitted as a legislative initiative by a group of MPs in the Parliament, with provisions aimed at highlighting the European integration aspirations of Moldova and promoting orientation of the Republic Moldova to the European democratic value area.

Article 1 (3) of the Constitution is proposed to be replaced by: "The Republic of Moldova is a state of law, democratic, oriented towards the European value area where the dignity of man, his rights and freedoms, the free development of human personality, justice and political pluralism is supreme and guaranteed."

It is also suggested to complement the Constitution with a new article on European integration, according to which the European integration of Moldova is the strategic objective of the country’s development. The procedure for accession of the Republic of Moldova to the constituent treaties of the European Union will be determined by the Parliament by organic law.

On 11 December 2017, the Constitutional Court (CC) examined a legislative initiative that provides for the completion of the preamble and Article 1 of the Constitution and its completion with a new article without any content comments. In the notice, the High Court noted that "regardless of the outcome of the examination of these amendments, the orientation towards the European democratic value area is a constitutional principle".

The path of Moldova towards European integration is a lasting but firm one, the authors of the initiative, MPs from the parliamentary majority and the PPE (European People’s Party) group. They point out that "the political and geopolitical disputes regarding the Republic of Moldova belonging to the European value area bring serious prejudices of image and social – economic one. The Republic of Moldova is part of Europe and this is undeniable".

Bashkan of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah, proposed in the Government meeting to hold a referendum on modification and completion of the Constitution, stipulating that strategic objective of Moldova is European integration.

President, Igor Dodon, previously said he would "do everything possible" not to reach Parliament's adoption of the draft amendment to the Constitution on European integration and said him being "the follower of the Eurasian integration."

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor A. Raileanu)