Opinion: “The EU Is Running Amok in the Moldovan Elections”

The European Union is increasingly and blatantly interfering in the electoral process in Moldova, practically disregarding the country’s sovereignty as well as universally accepted international and democratic principles

Semyon ALBU, RTA: Parliamentary elections are just around the corner, and the level of lawlessness, surrealism, and absurdity in what is effectively an already ongoing election campaign continues to rise steadily. As usual, the country’s real problems remain far from the spotlight. Who cares if the economy is collapsing and the population is shrinking at record pace? It’s strange that even the opposition is addressing these issues rather half-heartedly, despite the fact that it’s their job by definition. As for the ruling party, it’s even less likely to focus on them, as doing so would only highlight its own complete incompetence. It feels much more comfortable “swimming” in geopolitical waters, talking about the Russian hybrid war and its own battle against “Kremlin agents” in the name of sacred European integration. In general, the “Russian threat” and its offshoot, “Moscow’s interference in the Moldovan elections”, have become the central theme of PAS’ entire political and electoral strategy at this stage. Who cares about the economy or demographics when there’s an urgent need to talk – almost hourly – about “malicious Russia” and its attempts to meddle in Moldova’s electoral process? For instance, this week Prime Minister Recean, speaking at the Central Electoral Commission, sternly declared that the authorities “will not allow anyone to control our elections from the outside” and insisted they must be “clean, free, and fairly funded”. He went on to say that democracy is not for sale, that Parliament must be the voice of the people – not an instrument of the Kremlin – and continued in the same vein. Can it be said that Russia is attempting to influence the outcome of the September vote? Undoubtedly. Is it entitled to do so according to established international principles? Probably not. So, does that mean our government’s complaints are justified? They might be – if not for one caveat: aside from Moscow, there’s another player on our field – Brussels. And its influence on the Moldovan elections is becoming so large-scale and brazen that all other instances of “interference” pale in comparison. European leaders and bureaucrats have eagerly and enthusiastically adopted the ruling regime’s rhetoric about Russian interference in the elections. Not a month goes by without a prominent EU representative visiting Moldova – be it the European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, or the new head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas – only to speak about alleged external “manipulations”, naturally directing such accusations toward Russia. Under this pretext, Moldova is seeing an increasing influx of various advisors, experts, and consultants in areas such as countering hybrid influence, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and more. Their meetings with local officials typically result in newly blocked websites, additional TV channel closures, new searches, and criminal cases against opposition members – or even ordinary citizens suspected of so-called “electoral corruption”. Ultimately, without much pretense anymore, the EU even sent a “hybrid rapid response team” to Moldova in June to combat foreign interference in the parliamentary elections. Whether this team is also authorized to combat interference from the EU itself was not specified. Never mind the ordinary advisers and euro-commissioners – when it comes to boosting the ruling party’s approval ratings, even the highest-ranking officials of the European Union are brought in. The recent Moldova-EU summit became the pinnacle of shameless PR in favor of PAS. The heads of the European Commission and the European Council flew in for a couple of hours to drop by Chisinau, listen to Maia Sandu’s cliché-filled speech without translation, hand over a fairly generous check, and – crowning the hypocrisy – sign a resolution strongly condemning “Russian interference”. Incidentally, by some strange coincidence, all these “historic steps” toward Eurointegration, announcements of massive credit lines, and subsequent disbursement of large tranches always seem to happen right around election time. A truly magical coincidence. As well as the fact that Brussels allows itself to pass judgment on the activities of local political forces and impose sanctions on opposition figures, while completely ignoring the authoritarian methods of governance employed by PAS. It even goes so far as to practically threaten the people of Moldova, warning that if the “wrong” parties enter parliament, further EU integration will become problematic. A veiled hint, so to speak, that if we vote “incorrectly”, we will immediately lose European support and, more importantly, funding, which, under the disastrous rule of the “yellow gang”, has become critical to the country’s functioning. Interference? Blackmail? Oh no, of course not. Speaking of sanctions. We’ve already grown accustomed to the fact that they’re imposed on any politicians affiliated with the fugitive oligarch Ilan Sor. But yesterday, the target of European restrictions was none other than the popular mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban – one of the leaders of the “Alternativa” bloc, which has a legitimate claim to entering parliament. Along with him, two other Moldovan citizens were sanctioned – reportedly former journalist and presidential candidate Natalia Morari, who now opposes the regime, and the leader of the “Future of Moldova” party, Vasile Tarlev, who is currently in talks to form a left-wing bloc with Igor Dodon and Irina Vlah. At the very least, in Ceban’s case, the information has been officially confirmed. Romania’s entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a brief note stating that the politician is banned from entering the Schengen Area “on national security grounds” and “in accordance with applicable regulations”. The head of the ministry also commented on the matter but provided no specific details to explain the reasoning behind the decision, merely stating that “the seriousness of the case justifies the ban”. So much for transparency and democracy. Of course, there are many theories about what happened. Some believe that this is how Romanian President Nicusor Dan is repaying a debt to Maia Sandu, as promised, for helping him get elected by mobilizing Moldovan voters to the polls. Others think the decision was made at the highest levels of the EU and simply handed down to Romania for execution. And, naturally, there’s no shortage of conspiracy theories – one of them claims that this move is meant to inflate Ceban’s pre-election ratings and that it’s all part of a clever plan. One thing is certain: this is the clearest and most blatant attempt to influence the outcome of the parliamentary elections – and clearly, not by Russia. “Alternativa”, which, thanks in part to the capital’s mayor – now a firm supporter of the EU path – had planned to draw some of PAS’ pro-European electorate, is now losing that opportunity. It’s obvious that Moldova’s euro-integration supporters are unlikely to vote for a party led by a politician sanctioned by Brussels. До выборов еще два с половиной месяца, и по логике самые мощные козыри еще только предстоит пустить в ход. Страшно представить, на что готовы в ЕС, чтобы протащить своих протеже в следующий парламент с мажоритарной фракцией. В любом случае ясно, что лимита на действия, идущие вразрез с суверенитетом Молдовы и просто базовыми принципами международного права, у европейцев явно нет. There are still two and a half months until the elections, and logically, the strongest cards have yet to be played. It’s frightening to imagine what the EU might be willing to do in order to push its protégés into the next parliament with a majority faction. In any case, it’s clear that there are no limits to the actions European, even when they run counter to Moldova’s sovereignty and the fundamental principles of international law.