Batrancea Discussed with the Head of the Venice Commission the Constitutional Court's Decision to Dissolve the Parliament

Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Vlad Batrincea, who was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), met with the head of the Venice Commission, Gianni Buquicchio. During the conversation, Batrancea said that the Constitutional Court (CC), under political pressure, decided there were circumstances for parliament dissolution. This announced the press service of the parliament on April 21. As noted in the parliament, Batrincea and Buquicchio discussed the latest political events in Moldova, the institutional and constitutional crisis. Batrancea outlined his position on the latest Constitutional Court’s decision on the grounds for parliament dissolution. According to Batrancea, this decision was the result of political pressure on the judges of the Constitutional Court and contradicts the recommendations of the 2019 Venice Commission. Batrancea also said that the parliament is in favor of a transparent dialogue between the authorities on an equal footing. As noted in the press service of the parliament, the head of the Venice Commission said that the structures of the Council of Europe will make efforts to ensure that both the parliament and the president are aware of their responsibility for the crisis and find a solution through dialogue and compromise. “One possible solution would be a constitutional reform undertaken by the entire political class. Decisions on the conditions for holding elections must also be made by reaching a consensus,” the parliament quoted Buquicchio. At the end of the meeting, on behalf of Speaker Zinaida Greceanii, Batrancea invited the head of the Venice Commission to Moldova and asked to mediate in the conflict between the main bodies of the country. Recall, on April 5, Greceanii sent a letter to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Peichinovic-Buric with a request to mediate in the institutional conflict between President Maia Sandu and the parliament. Greceanii noted in the letter that now there are no grounds for the dissolution of parliament, "however, Maia Sandu insists on this, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution." In a reply letter, the Council of Europe stated that the circumstances for the dissolution of the parliament are specified in the Constitution of Moldova. In her response, published by the press service of the parliament, the representative of the Council of Europe recalled that the Venice Commission had already given Moldova its opinion on this issue in 2019, which states that “the parliament dissolution, which the people elected in the course of free and fair elections is an extreme measure that can only be taken in compliance with the spirit and letter of the Constitution." However, the press service of the parliament issued a press release, which stated that the Council of Europe said in a response to Zinaida Greceanii that "parliament cannot be dissolved if there is a parliamentary majority." This message from the parliamentary press service turned out to be disinformation - there is no such statement in the text of the Council of Europe's response.