Leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova Dmitry Diacov considered what was happening 'the result of someone's provocation.' And well-known analyst, editor of the newspaper 'Moldavskie Vedomosti' Dmitry Chubashenko explained the sharp increase in the number of applicants for Romanian citizenship by the neighboring country's upcoming accession to the European Union in 2007.
'The employees of our embassy have no involvement in the excitement among citizens of the Republic of Moldova. I myself am surprised by such a desire of people to become citizens of Romania. This is their choice... Such a number of applicants in such a short period has not been observed before. People can calm down, since the right to acquire Romanian citizenship has existed not for the first or last year,' said the vice-consul of Romania in the Republic of Moldova, Lucian-Ilie Stanica.
It should be recalled that dual citizenship is allowed in Moldova. And, according to Dmitry Chubashenko, in the conditions of the continuing deterioration of the political and socio-economic situation in the republic, many of its residents are in a hurry to insure themselves by acquiring a passport of another state. Still, for example, there are many people wanting to obtain Russian citizenship. And recently, the Ukrainian side has also become very active in this matter. 'According to rumors, Ukrainian passports are almost being dropped from helicopters over Transnistria, as a result of which the number of local holders of "independent" citizenship has reached about 65,000, approaching the 100,000-strong contingent of citizens of the Russian Federation living here. The popularity of Romanian citizenship is due to its upcoming accession to the European Union in 2007 and, accordingly, the guaranteed possibility of free movement in the Schengen area for holders of a Romanian passport,' explained the editor of 'MV'. And in this regard, he called an additional stimulating factor the recent statement by Romanian President Traian Băsescu that this autumn the parliament will pass a law that will facilitate the acquisition of citizenship of his country.
Having reported this in August at a meeting with representatives of Romanian youth who arrived from abroad, Traian Băsescu also clarified: 'We want to give young people the right to quickly obtain Romanian citizenship where dual citizenship is allowed. We want to expand the labor market, provide benefits for obtaining education in Romania.' And at the same time, he criticized Chisinau: 'We are outraged that the Romanian language continues to be denied and that we are talking about the so-called Moldovan language. It is regrettable that even today the Republic of Moldova is one of the few countries that, being separated from the motherland, try to mystify their history.'
However, much more noise was caused by another statement by the head of the Romanian state, which he made in early July: 'Romania is the only country, the only people that remained divided after the reunification of Germany, and the Romanian-Moldovan unification will take place within the European Union.' Inspired by such speeches, Moldovan supporters of the idea of unification with Romania immediately created a committee in support of the Romanian president's statement and promised to hold a Great National Assembly on this occasion in October on the central square of Chisinau. 'Moldova is an insolvent and bankrupt state that is unable to independently integrate into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. Moldova's integration into the European Union is possible only after it again becomes an integral part of Romania,' the creators of the committee explained to the public.
True, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin in his interviews repeatedly rejected the likelihood of such a turn of events. 'Neither all of Moldova nor any separate part of it will ever enter Romania,' stressed the head of the Moldovan state. He also ruled out the option of unification of the two states 'when Moldova becomes an EU member.'
According to the leader of the Democratic Party of the Republic of Moldova, Dmitry Diacov, Băsescu's sensational statement does not seem sufficiently thought out, if only because the European Union itself decides which country and when to accept into its composition. And in this sense, Romania, which is about to join the EU, has its own path, and Moldova has its own. Moreover, as is known, the international community generally does not welcome initiatives to revise state borders. The prospect of a mass influx of Moldovan residents who have obtained Romanian citizenship into its territory cannot please the EU community either. Although, on the other hand, it is undeniable that the currently very difficult procedure for obtaining visas to Schengen area states for Moldovan citizens provokes their desire to acquire a Romanian passport. Nevertheless, it very much seems that the unexpected recent excitement among applicants for Romanian citizenship is 'the result of someone's provocation,' concluded Dmitry Diacov.
Recall that Bucharest grants citizenship of its country to all residents of Bessarabia, which was part of Romania in 1918-1940, as well as to their children. According to unofficial information, it is also sought by business representatives of non-Moldovan nationality living in the republic – to simplify contacts on the European track. At the same time, the number of residents of Moldova who identified themselves as Romanians in the last census does not exceed 10% of their total number.