Foreign Policy Association together with Friedrich­Ebert-Stiftung offer you a newsletter on foreign policy and European integration issues of the Republic of Moldova. The newsletter is part of the “Foreign Policy Dialogue” joint Project. NEWSLETTER MONTHLY BULLETIN APRIL 2023 NR.4(206) Synthesis and Foreign Policy Debates NTheewnselewttselre-tutel resistedreevaelliozpaet ddebyMMădăădlăinlinNNeceșcușțuuț,ur,eeddaitcotor-rc-ocooordrdinoantaotror THEMES OF THE EDITION: 1. Olesea Stamate, MP: The dialogue in the judiciary is intentionally jammed, those who want to prevent the reform are trying to block it 2. Editorial by Mariana Rata, investigative journalist, TV8: Tower of Babel 3. Angela Bostan, judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeal: This deadlock was generated by the adoption of several laws in a speedy and inexplicable way 4. PISA Security& Defence Digest: The impact of corruption and injustice on the security sector News in Brief On April 25, the Russian authorities declared a Moldovan diplomat persona non grata and banned three deputies and the Minister of the Interior, Ana Revenco, from entering Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova forced an employee of the Embassy of the Russian Federation to leave the territory of the country, after declaring him persona non grata. The Russian newspaper Kommersant wrote that the Minister of the Interior, Ana Revenco, and the deputies of the Action and Solidarity Party, Oazu Nantoi, Olesea Stamate and Lilian Carp are no longer allowed to enter the Russian Federation.“I’m not going to go to the Russian Federation as long as the Putin criminal regime exists in the Russian Federation!” said MP Lilian Carp. For his part, deputy Oazu Nantoi said that this decision is not new for him, because he had had problems entering the territory of the Russian Federation before.“In 2019, when I participated in the act of political hypocrisy and went to Moscow together with the delegation that included Zinaida Grecianii, Ion Ceban and Alexandr Slusari, the official delegation had to wait an hour and a half because it was found that I was blacklisted by the Russian Federation,” Nantoi said. The Superior Council of the Magistracy (SCM) is to hear 14 judges participating in the competition for the temporary secondment to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ). They will be running for 12 vacancies left at the Supreme Court of Justice, following the recent mass resignations from this court. More precisely, it is about five judges from the Chisinau Court of Appeal: Sergiu Daguța, Igor Mînăscurtă, Nelea Budăi, Boris Talpă and Alexandru Gafton. The judge from the Comra Court of Appeal t Dmitrii Fujenco also participates in the competition. Three other judges, who entered the competition, work in the Chisinau Court: Irina Țonov, Viorica Puica and Oxana Parfeni. Two magistrates work in the Bălți Court: Aliona Donos and Ghenadie Eremciuc. Judges also participate in the contest: Veronica Cupcea(Orhei Court), Valeriu Arhip(Strășeni Court) and Ion Malanciuc(Criuleni Court). President Maia Sandu declared on April 25th that the Republic of Moldova is preparing to launch a new national program-“European Express Village”. The programme will respond to the immediate needs to improve the rural infrastructure in the Republic of Moldova. The existing“European Village” program remains active and will be focused on large-scale projects.“I requested the Government, in the immediate period, to open the call for a new “Express European Village” project competition, which would meet the following conditions. To allow villages to implement projects fast, with a maximum completion time of 6 months, and to solve urgent needs in our villages. The procedure for registering projects in the competition should be simplified”, said Maia Sandu. Justice reform first but only by consensus The Republic of Moldova cannot continue its European path without a profound reform of the justice sector. This reform is by far Moldova’s most important touchstone. Currently, we are witnessing a game of egos, a game behind the scenes, in which even the current government is not skillful enough to push the right buttons. There exist interest circles that want to see this justice system reform fail so that Moldova cannot get closer to the EU. All this is to maintain a status quo of the gray area where such reprehensible characters, now under general prosecution, can return and thrive. The political class and the magistrates should sit at the negotiating table and speak openly. They should stop threatening each other and use the levers they have at hand behind the scenes. Such tactics from both camps can only be counterproductive. The frictions between the two actors now that are on opposite sides are also being instrumentalized by foreign actors Monthly newsletter, No.04(206), April 2023 111 Bucuresti St., Chisinau, MD-2012, Republic of Moldova, Tel.+373 855830 Website: fes-moldova.org. E-mail:fes@fes-moldova.org