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PM: European integration means no loss of sovereignty for Moldova

CHISINAU, January 08, /ITAR-TASS/. European integration does not mean the loss of sovereignty for Moldova, its Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said, replying to Romanian President Traian Basescu’s remarks about the need for the two countries’ unification.

“Statements about unification cannot be called opportune. We need words that would consolidate our society. European integration is the national idea and it does not mean the loss of Moldova’s sovereignty,” Leanca said.

At the same time, he thanked Romania for supporting Moldova’s European integration aspirations.

Earlier this week, Basescu said on local television that Romania had to unify with Moldova to help it keep going along the European path. In his opinion, the Romanian leadership has to say publicly this year that Moldova is Romanian land.

“I think that 2014 should be the year that will allow us openly and honestly say that Moldova is Romanian land and it was not born with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It has a history, a language, a culture, all related to Romania, Romanian people,” Basescu said.

The Romanian president has made several times pro-union statements lately.

On November 27, 2013, he stated for TVR television that the next major project for Romania, after accession to NATO and the European Union, must be a union with Moldova. “I am convinced that if there will be a unionist movement in Moldova, Romania will say ‘yes’ without hesitation,” he said.

“When a nation has the occasion to be united, it will not give up. I do not count on politicians, all my action related to the Republic of Moldova has been linked to the idea that we may unite. I know that it’s not the time now, but this will happen because blood is thicker than water,” Basescu said.

He also told B1 television that after he left office, unification with Moldova would be “one of the projects” in which he would invest his “resources.”

“It will be one of the projects to invest my resources in after leaving office, because I believe in this. And I believe Romania needs Moldova and Moldova needs Romania to move forward faster and more secure on its European path,” Basescu said.

However, Leanca said that unification with Romania was not on Moldova’s agenda and that the country needed external messages to strengthen society and not to divide it.

According to a survey conducted by the Romanian Institute for Assessment and Strategy (IRES), three quarters of Romanians agree with the unification of Moldova, Agerpres, the national news agency of Romania, said. However, nearly a third of respondents believe that most Moldovans disagree with the unification.

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