On December 17, 2009, Deputy Prime Minister of the RM Victor Osipov put forward an initiative to suspend temporarily the entry ban for Pridnestrovian officials to the EU countries.
In this connection, the Foreign Ministry of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic finds it necessary to stress some principle points.
It will be recalled that the ban introduced in 2003 was used by the EU as an element of political pressure on Pridnestrovie, besides, the fact that every year the EU Council of Ministers prolongs it on one and the same grounds means that the Pridnestrovian side has been under pressure for seven years already, without considering the real situation around the settlement.
Attention is also drawn to the fact that it is not the first attempt of Moldova's authorities to demonstrate their “good will”. As far back as in April 2008, after the high-level meeting between the Presidents of the Republic of Moldova and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Mr. Voronin planned to address the EU bodies with the same appeal.
All this proves once again that the EU sanctions were introduced at Moldova's request. Pridnestrovie couldn't help but take notice of those “terms” which Kishinev is trying to add to the EU position. We remind that in year 2003 there was no “5+2” format of political negotiations. In its turn, a special procedure of crossing the PMR's border by foreign diplomats has become Pridnestrovie's response to restrictions introduced by the EU.
Therefore, it's surprising to see the Moldovan side trying to make decisions for the EU bodies by setting the in-force period of the EU decisions and setting forth conditions for their fulfillment, tending to openly manipulate such a large and authoritative organization as the European Union. Pridnestrovie pointed out more than once that it finds it to be a domestic law of the EU countries whether to introduce restrictions on entering their territory and traveling across it, or not.
At the same time, we are convinced that if the European Union is willing to stand out as an objective participant in the settlement and tends towards effective decision-making, then responsible European structures are able to remove restrictions independently, without instructions and demands from any side.
