Dodon identifies corruption as main threat to Moldova
CHISINAU. Jan 29 (Interfax) - Moldovan President Igor Dodon has identified corruption as the main threat to the country.
"While some policymakers are trying to prioritize geopolitical issues, such as unification with Romania, confrontation with Moscow, confrontation with the Americans and other false subjects, I and the government team believe the real threat to our national security is within the country. This is a real rather than geopolitical threat. A threat which none of the [Moldovan] governments has opposed in earnest - corruption," Dodon said in his speech at a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) session on Wednesday.
"Hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens left the country under the previous administrations not because of the country's geopolitical orientation but because of corruption, which has led it to poverty, social inequality, and injustice."
"This is why corruption has always been on the agenda of each Supreme Security Council session that I've hosted as president. This is why we have asked the government to carry out substantial reforms in the judiciary system in line with the Venice Commission recommendations and in close cooperation with its experts," he said.
Moldova has made "important progress in fighting corruption," particularly in investigating the banking fraud, and some of the beneficiaries of the theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks are going to stand trial, Dodon said.
"By way of a comprehensive reform of its judiciary system, Moldova is determined to eradicate corruption among judges, put together a professional and honest judicial corps, and restore the people's trust in judges and the judiciary system," while this reform itself "should be taken off the track of political debates," Dodon said.
"We don't want a reform just for the sake of it, and we don't want it to be copied at any cost. We need a process involving trust and support. This is why a judiciary reform is among the fundamental challenges facing us. This is a sphere where support from European institutions is very important to us, as the rule of law has been practically undermined in the Republic of Moldova over the past years," Dodon said.