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The government is forcing Moldova’s European integration on its citizens, according to a false narrative promoted by the fugitive criminal Ilan Shor and picked up by the pro-Kremlin media
NEWS: The Moldovan opposition politician Ilan Shor stated on his Telegram channel that Parliament betrayed the interests of the country's citizens by adopting a declaration on European integration, thus proving that it was ready to impose the EU accession.
On Thursday, the Moldovan parliament approved a declaration on European integration, in which the deputies call on all society and political forces to unite around the idea of the republic joining the EU.
"The Action and Solidarity Party betrayed the interests of Moldovan citizens. They enshrined their venality in a piece of paper, which they called a 'declaration on European integration'. During yesterday’s parliamentary session, the fascists pushed this 'declaration', insulting not only the opposition MPs, but also all the inhabitants of our country... This is a demonstration of how they will impose their European Union on the people", wrote Shor. According to him, the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova should not be oriented only in one direction, as the country can cooperate with various partners.
NARRATIVE: The Chisinau authorities impose the European integration on the population.
CONTEXT/LOCAL ETHOS: On March 21, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted a political declaration on the European integration of the country . The document, which is a is a political statement, not legally binding, reads that "only the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union will ensure the future of the country as a sovereign, neutral, integral and democratic state, and the irreversible path of European integration and accession is a national priority for the Republic Moldova".
The declaration was voted by the majority deputies of the Action and Solidarity Party in the context in which the Republic of Moldova has taken important steps in the last two years along its European path. The authorities in Chisinau submitted their application for accession in March 2022, at the same time as those in Kyiv and Tbilisi, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In June, the same year, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine obtained the status of candidate countries, and in December 2023, Brussels decided to launch accession negotiations. .
However, the European path of the Republic of Moldova is being undermined from within by pro-Russian political forces, supported, most probably financially, by the Kremlin. Ilan Shor seems to be one of, if not the main politician from the Republic of Moldova that Moscow is counting on to hijack its European course and bring it back into its sphere of influence. Ilan Shor has made several trips to Moscow lately, and one of his affiliates, the governor of the Gagauz Autonomous Region, Evghenia Guțul, has recently posted a photo apparently by the side of Vladimir Putin, with whom she claims to have had a discussion.
Ilan Shor is an oligarch who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the theft of one billion dollars from the banking system of the Republic of Moldova in 2014. He was mayor of Orhei and deputy from 2019 to 2023, when his mandate was withdrawn after being convicted. In 2019, he fled from the Republic of Moldova to Israel, whose citizenship he holds. In 2022 and 2023, his group organized several anti-government protests, which, according to the American authorities, were aimed at establishing a regime favorable to Mosco. Chisinau also denounced an attempted coup by Shor with Russia’s support.
On October 26, 2022, the US Treasury included the Shor Party and its leader in the list of sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, arguing that they tried to divert the European course of the Republic of Moldova and bring it back into Russia's sphere of influence, collaborating in this sense with individuals from the Russian Federation.
PURPOSE: To present European integration as a project imposed on citizens, including from outside, suggesting that most of them would be against this external vector.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The very presence of a more than convenient pro-European majority in the Chisinau Parliament, following the 2021 parliamentary elections, is proof that the citizens of the Republic of Moldova voted for European integration. In that election, PAS obtained 63 of the 101 so, for the first time in the Republic of Moldova, a pro-European party can govern without alliances. The victory of PAS was preceded by that of Maia Sandu, in November 2020, when she was elected head of state.
It is true that in the meantime the ratings of both Maia Sandu and, in particular, that of PAS have decreased, but all polls, however, show that approximately 60% of the population of the Republic of Moldova is in favor of the European integration of the country. Sociological research also does not take into account citizens from outside the country, whose overwhelming majority is in favor of integration, if we take into account the electoral preferences they expressed in the latest polls.
Given that, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, "Parliament is the supreme representative body of the people", the acts adopted by the legislature already represent the will of the population. Citizens will also be able to directly express their option regarding European integration. On December 24, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, requested Parliament to initiate a referendum on EU accession. The pro-presidential PAS majority amended the Electoral Code so that referendums are now allowed to be held on the same day as the elections. Most likely, the referendum will take place together with the presidential elections in the fall of this year.
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