Igor Grosu welcomed Estonia’s decision to open an embassy in Chisinau, which will start working in the second half of this year: “Thus, all three Baltic states will have embassies in Moldova – this says a lot about the level of our relations.
The Baltic delegation took part in the inauguration of the new session. As it usually happens, their visit was an expression of “firm support for Moldova’s European path”.
The auditor is coming to us
But more symbolic is the visit of the Venice Commission rapporteurs, who will visit Chisinau on February 4-5.
The purpose of the visit is to collect materials for the preparation of an opinion on Law No. 100/2025 on the amendment of some normative acts (“effective fight against electoral corruption and related aspects”).
The law was adopted last summer. One of the key changes is the expansion of the concept of electoral corruption.
For example, while previously the criminal law covered strictly the fact of transferring money or any benefit to voters, the new text of Article 181¹ of the Criminal Code criminalizes the very promise of such benefits, even if they are not actually provided.
Also, under the new rules, party leaders and election contestants can no longer advertise their charitable or sponsorship activities.
In addition, the collection of identity documents and the publication of personal data on the Internet, etc. are considered illegal.
Reactions are different
As ADEPT noted after the adoption of this law, it was “a response to the systemic imbalances and specific risks identified in the last elections”.
“The problems that observers and national institutions consistently pointed out concerned vote-buying, non-transparent campaign financing, the influence of external actors, the artificial mobilization of citizens for paid protests and the infiltration of extremist organizations into the public space,” the ADEPT assessment noted.
But the joint statement of the mission to observe the parliamentary elections on September 28, 2025, noted that Law No. 100 was adopted “without the political support of opposition parties and introduced significant changes to 13 laws, including the Electoral Code, the Law on Political Parties, the Criminal Code and the Contravention Code.”
It is worth noting that only deputies of the PAS faction voted in favor of it. The deputies of the Communist Bloc refused to vote, while independents abstained.
“We condemned and condemn any cases of electoral corruption, but corruption also includes the facts of using administrative resources and other means to obtain electoral results,” said Vlad Batrincea, deputy parliamentary speaker from PSRM, during the debate.
The observers’ conclusion also noted that some interlocutors of the OSCE/ODIHR Mission expressed concerns about the full-fledged consultations “due to certain procedural shortcomings and limited time to familiarize themselves with the draft amendments, which was due to the late distribution of the text”.
But overall, they concluded that the legal framework had been improved.
Let’s see what the Venice Commission, which had enough time to prepare a qualified opinion in a calm atmosphere, unburdened by any Moldovan elections, has to say about it. It is expected to be issued in March this year.
“For myself and for that guy”
For the first “working” plenary session this year, MPs will meet on February 5. According to official statements by representatives of the parliamentary majority, the main task is the European integration agenda. Approximately 300 laws are to be adopted in order to be ready to finalize the negotiations by the end of 2028.
Given such a busy agenda, the parliament should be as organized as possible and may even, in the words of speaker Igor Grosu, “have to take over some functions of the government”.
