BERLIN, March 5. /TASS/. The European Union plans to send a civilian security mission to Moldova in the first half of the upcoming summer, Germany’s Welt am Sonntag said on Sunday.
According to the newspaper, Moldova’s authorities issued a corresponding request to the European Union on January 28. The European Union External Action Service (EEAS) is currently working on the so-called crisis management concept which is expected to be finalized in March. It will outline the mission’s details, including its scope, mandate, and goals. A unanimous approval by the governments of the EU member countries is needed for its approval.
The idea of the mission is backed by Germany, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Baltic countries, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. As part of the mission, EU specialists are supposed to provide consultancy to the Moldovan authorities on issues of the development of justice, security, and customs structures. Apart from that, the European Union plans to second experts to help repel possible cyberattacks and disinformation.
Moldova’s Foreign Minister Nicolae Popescu said on Friday that Moldova’s government is in talks with the European Union on issues related to such a civilian mission.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in February that Brussels was looking into the possible deployment of a mission as part of its policy of security and defense. He said that this mission would be tasked to support Moldova as candidate for the EU membership and bolster its resistance to external interference and destabilization efforts.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu warned about a possible state coup involving opposition parties and called for giving extra powers to special services and other law enforcement agencies. She cited Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who said that Ukrainian special services had allegedly wiretapped Russia’s plans "of destroying the democratic order" in Moldova.
Grass-roots protests have been held in Moldova since last summer. Demonstrators demand the resignation of Sandu and her government, who they blamed for the economic crisis that brought about skyrocketing prices for food, gas, energy, utilities, gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as inflation that hit 34% in annual terms.