Written declaration No. 664 | Doc. 14648 | 11 October 2018

Democratic standards in the Republic of Moldova

Signatories: Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Boriana ÅBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr José BADIA, Monaco, EPP/CD ; Ms Sybille BENNING, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Boryslav BEREZA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Telmo CORREIA, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Ms Marie-Christine DALLOZ, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Annicka ENGBLOM, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Bernard FOURNIER, France, EPP/CD ; Mr Vladyslav GOLUB, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Jürgen HARDT, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Frank HEINRICH, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Mr Danail KIRILOV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Ms Stella KYRIAKIDES, Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Mr Luís LEITE RAMOS, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Andreas NICK, Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Ria OOMEN-RUIJTEN, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr Joseph O'REILLY, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Ms Ingjerd SCHOU, Norway, EPP/CD ; Mr Tritan SHEHU, Albania, EPP/CD ; Mr Ionuț-Marian STROE, Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr Michael SVENSSON, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Volker ULLRICH, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Jordi XUCLÀ, Spain, ALDE

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

We are deeply concerned by the deterioration of the basic democratic standards in the Republic of Moldova: rule of law, democratic institutions, independence of judiciary, media freedom, harassment of opposition.

We call on the Moldovan authorities to:

ensure that the results of the 2018 Chisinau mayoral elections, as recognised by the national and international observers and reflecting the will of the voters, are fully respected;

adjust the electoral law and address the key proposals and recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) on the electoral reform. There is a risk that, under the current set of rules, the elections won’t be recognised by the international community.

ensure that citizens of the Republic of Moldova living abroad will be able to participate freely in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

We are also strongly concerned by the pressure posed on NGOs denying their right to access foreign funding and request that the rapporteurs of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) visit the Republic of Moldova as a matter of urgency and report back to the Parliamentary Assembly at their earliest possible convenience.