On 9 June, the European Union called for calm and dialogue in Moldova, as the country plunges into a political crisis.
On 9 June, after months of discussions (see EUROPE 12268/13), the Socialist Party of pro-Russian President Igor Dodon concluded an unprecedented coalition agreement with Maïa Sandu's pro-European alliance ACUM, with the aim of removing the Democratic Party led by the controversial oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc from power. However, the day before, the Constitutional Court had requested the dissolution of the Parliament and the organisation of new elections, due to the impossibility of forming a government within 3 months of the elections (see EUROPE 12201/4). The President refused to sign the dissolution decree, so he was suspended from office on 10 June by the Constitutional Court and replaced by Prime Minister Pavel Filip, a member of the Democratic Party, who dissolved Parliament and called early parliamentary elections for 6 September.
On Monday 10 June, in a joint statement, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Poland and Sweden announced their support for the Moldovan Parliament "as the representative of the people of Moldova and as the most appropriate place to discuss political issues, including the most controversial". "We call for calm and restraint. All parties bear the responsibility for resolving this constitutional crisis by peaceful means", they also warned.
The day before, having taken "good note of the Parliament's decisions, in particular on the formation of the government coalition", the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and the Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, Johannes Hahn - who visited the country last week (see EUROPE 12268/13) - had "strongly" reiterated their call for calm and restraint.
"Dialogue between democratically elected representatives must remain the key to finding a solution to the current political crisis", they warned. According to Ms Mogherini and Mr Hahn, the EU is ready to work with the democratically constituted legitimate government, recalling that respect for the rule of law and democracy should remain the pillar of their relations.
The same is true for NATO, which says it is following the crisis "with concern". "We call on all political forces in the country to exercise calm and restraint, to resolve their differences through dialogue with full respect for the rule of law. The democratically elected leaders of the Republic of Moldova must work together to resolve this crisis", said the Secretary General's spokeswoman.
For its part, the Council of Europe was concerned about the dissolution of the Parliament. "The decisions of the Constitutional Court are difficult to understand and seem arbitrary, in the light of the text of the Constitution and the rule of law standards", said Thorbjorn Jagland, who said he was "extremely concerned about recent events in Moldova". It therefore decided, "in his capacity of Secretary General of the Council of Europe", to request an urgent opinion from the Venice Commission, in particular on the conditions of dissolution of the Parliament. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)