Parliamentary Assembly

I felt a sort of satisfaction as I was mounting this most authoritative rostrum in Europe, not only because Moldova’s chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is coming to an end, but because my country has worked so hard at self-improvement lately that we have taken a completely new approach to evaluating our strengths and priorities for future development.

The experience of constructive partnership with the Council of Europe has not only provided a model for resolving internal political problems but given an impetus to our setting of new objectives, including, primarily, Moldova’s integration into the European Union. Crucially, that co-operation has inspired optimism and given the authorities and civil society confidence that the objective is achievable and that success depends on our own political will and consistency rather than on the interests of the great powers.

Fruitful co-operation between Moldova and the Council of Europe began in 1995, but the really radical changes in our relations have taken place in the past eighteen months. Those relations are now more exacting and demand more responsibility from us; there is also greater mutual commitment.

I remind you that Moldova experienced a serious political crisis as it was preparing to assume the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. Chişinău’s squares were occupied by demonstrators, and there seemed to be no realistic prospect of a normal dialogue between the government and the opposition. The government, who gained the majority of votes at the election, refrained from using force against the demonstrators, who created disorder over several months, but it was seen by its supporters as weak and lacking confidence.

At the same time, the government’s opponents were making unfounded allegations that it was totalitarian and dictatorial. Acts of provocation from both sides almost led to a tragic outcome in the country. Sooner or later, the real motives behind those events will become clear. The future will reveal the true aims of those who organised those strange and so far unexplained events between January and April 2002.

One point, however, is important for all of us today: it was only the Council of Europe’s active involvement that led Moldova out of that unnatural and artificially provoked situation. Only a timely legal appreciation of the situation enabled my country to recover from a state of political helplessness.

Frankly, two Council of Europe resolutions on Moldova seemed at first to be unfairly severe. As President, I found it difficult to make straightforward decisions based on the recommendations – decisions that would be unpopular with many people in Moldova. Besides, the recommendations for immediate implementation included some that had been constantly ignored by the Moldovan authorities since 1995. That led to the question: why should we have to implement them, and why immediately?

The recommendations that seemed too uncompromising included the following: to register the Bessarabian Church, an issue disputed by the overwhelming majority of believers in Moldova; to sit at the round table with the opposition, thus practically ignoring our own political majority in parliament; and to transfer television to the public sector, when even our immediate neighbours have no such experience. Nevertheless, those recommendations demonstrated that Moldova was required to do only what the country itself had undertaken to accomplish on becoming a member of the Council of Europe. Meeting those requirements and criteria means adhering to the Council of Europe’s principles – the principles of modern democracy.

The opinion of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe experts could have been ignored, following a trite accusation of double standards, but it would have demonstrated once more the immaturity of the country’s democratic institutions and the government’s weakness and indecision. We unreservedly implemented most of the recommendations and gained not only political stability, but confidence that our progress in implementing European standards has a highly positive influence on political processes in Moldova.

Our opportunity to resolve a political crisis through joint efforts was convincing proof that democracy is not a slogan, but an exceptionally complicated and, at the same time, effective instrument of managing society. However, if democracy is to work it requires us to take responsibility and to have a sincere will to improve the situation. Democracy, if you like, is a form of political consciousness, and citizens will judge their country according to whether it is present.

From this rostrum today I would like to thank all those who rendered support to my country. First among them is the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Walter Schwimmer. I thank also Mrs Durrieu, Mr Vahtre and Mr Bársony, the strict but objective rapporteurs for Moldova, along with many other sincere friends of our country. It was your support and initiative that enabled Moldova seriously to prepare for the honourable and responsible task of chairing the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. We have now established an ongoing co-operation with the Council of Europe. I must confess that it has been easier to chair the Committee of Ministers than it was to prepare for the chairmanship. I am sure that we shall maintain a high level of productivity and effectiveness in our last month’s work.

We have learnt much during this year. We have had personal experience of what it means to exist and work in a complex context of international relations, mutual obligations and agreements. We have learnt what any modern European state must know about resolving complicated economic, social, political and other problems in the context of freedom, openness, and the mass participation of citizens in the state decision-making process.

We shall use this invaluable experience in fulfilling another very ambitious goal – that of joining the European Union. Our argument is not based merely on the geographic claim that we are part of Europe. Our main premise is that our country’s place is among those who share fundamental European values of human rights and freedoms and of proper social and national development. We realise how difficult that path will be, but there is no alternative. Just a few days ago, our government approved the blueprint for Moldova’s integration into the European Union, which once again confirms that there is no room here for any ambiguous interpretations.

We see our progress towards the European integration and implementation of European standards as the main way to integrate our society, to unite the country and to resolve the present Transnistrian problem. It is only on the basis of European principles of linguistic and cultural diversity and protection of ethnic minorities’ rights that we will be able to restore Moldova’s state integrity and overcome the serious consequences of nationalism and separatism. As we seek to build a multi-ethnic Moldova, we realise that we rely on the best traditions of European integrity, on that legacy that has always called for peace, solidarity and mutual understanding. In this connection, we are grateful to the Council of Europe for its support in developing and continuing integration in Moldova, which does not place barriers of historical right and longstanding ambitions either in the past or in the present and which does not know bad or good peoples but treats us all, first and foremost, as human beings.

To a great extent, this approach must form the psychological background for the radical change to the constitutional foundations of the Republic of Moldova that will become the main guarantor of integrity and stability of our state. I remind you that in February this year, I offered Transnistria an opportunity to participate in drafting a new constitution of the Republic of Moldova. Today we have a joint constitutional committee, which despite difficulties and contradictions, is drafting a model of an absolutely new federal set-up for Moldova.

However complicated the path to the preparation of the new constitution, and however much the chosen principles may be criticised, I wish to state firmly and with full responsibility that federation is our firm choice. I state it so categorically only because the unitary Moldova, over the past decade, has been unable to offer a method of reintegration that would guarantee democracy, good will and non-violence in achievement of this goal. Chişinău is ready to share power and responsibility with the subjects of the future federation, as federation, essentially, is about delegation of powers. We now expect openness and sincerity from Transnistria, and for it to take active steps to put an end to its self-imposed isolation.

The Council of Europe is providing Moldova with great support in resolving these difficult problems. The recent conference on frozen conflicts in Chişinău showed that the Council of Europe could be actively and effectively involved in the settlement of conflicts on our continent. Aspects of democratic security, respect for the fundamental rights of populations involved in such conflicts, the functioning of democratic institutions in conflict zones – these are the activities where our Organisation can realise its potential.

Our working experience in the Council of Europe shows that it is the only pan-European organisation that currently brings together the interests of the whole of Europe, and that unites, on the same fundamental principles, the countries that have joined the European Union and the countries that are governed by other suprastate interests. Today, the Council of Europe is an excellent place to discuss and resolve problems concerning not only human rights, social and cultural programmes of co‑operation, but also political and economic problems, freedom of movement, regional security, and the fight against extremism and new threats. Hence, the Council of Europe’s mission is to become a leading organisation that will determine the introduction and observance of basic standards of sustainable development in European states. It is a structure invested with great responsibility and powers.

That is why we need the third summit of the Council of Europe – a full-scale pan-European meeting, at which state and government leaders will set out their positions on the fundamental challenges facing to the continent in the beginning of the third millennium. The summit’s slogan is, “Building a united Europe without dividing lines” and that is the principle of any state striving to meet the challenges of globalisation.

I suggest that many of the problems that have developed in our states provide clear evidence in favour of these changes. In the long run, only these changes will enable the ambitious programme of European integration to overcome the artificial borders created by historical conflicts and stubborn stereotypes.

Thank you for your attention.