No visas needed to get across the Prut River

Romanians can travel without visas in Moldova starting today. At least this is the promise of the new leaders in Chisinau.

The interim President of the Republic, Mihai Ghimpu, signed yesterday a decree to suspend the decision given on April 8 by the communist regime, which didn't allow Romanian citizens to travel on Moldovan territory without the visa, says Unimedia.md website.

According to the standard procedure, the decree must be agreed by the Constitutional Court, which will examine it. The next step is its publication in the Official Gazette. Only after that, its provisions are applicable and the Moldovan authorities have confidence that September 18 is the correct date for it.

Waiving the visa requirement for Romanian citizens was one of the election promises made by the present leaders of Moldova. Romania was the only EU Member State whose citizens had free access to the republic. The visa was reinforced by former President Vladimir Voronin, as a "punishment" for the authorities in Bucharest due to their alleged involvement in the anti-communist protests in early April.

Although Romania has complained about this situation to the European Commission, Brussels has not offered any support in solving the situation.

Another important bilateral issue that is to be solved as soon as possible is sending an ambassador for Romania to Chisinau. The former Romanian ambassador, Filip Teodorescu, was deported and declared persona non grata also due to the events in April. Diplomat Mihnea Constantinescu, proposed as a substitute at that time, did not receive the permission of the Chisinau authorities.

Translated by Sorin Balan