The chairman of the National Security Commission of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova says that „it is time to start the reunification process” with Transnistria

Through the decision to amend the Customs Code at the end of last year, which obliges economic agents from Transnistria to pay customs duties to the state budget of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau wants to send a clear message that „it is time to start the reunification process of the Republic of Moldova,” said Lilian Carp, chairman of the Commission for National Security, Defense and Public Order of the Moldovan Parliament, quoted on Friday by the Newsmaker portal, quoted by Agerpres.

All economic agents, whether they operate in Gagauzia, Chisinau or the Transnistrian region, must operate under equal conditions, Carp commented on the sidelines of the new amendments that have aroused the indignation of Tiraspol.

„Let’s understand what was behind this decision. Over the course of these 30 years (since the independence of the Republic of Moldova) we have been giving in all the time with regard to the Transnistrian region or the Gagauzia UTA. As a result, we have discrimination against economic agents operating in Moldova. All economic agents must be put on an equal footing,” Lilian Carp said on Thursday evening in the „Cabinet from the Shadows” show on Jurnal TV.

„It is clear that we still have a lot of work to do, but this is a decision through which we send a few messages. The first is that they (economic agents) operate on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, and secondly, the law is the law for everyone. In the given circumstances, we are sending a signal that it is time to start the reunification process of the Republic of Moldova,” said Lilian Carp.

Carp, a member of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), argues that with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Tiraspol is no longer in a position to impose conditions or blackmail Chisinau, including by blocking access for farmers from the Dubasari district, who have agricultural land located beyond the Tiraspol-Camenca route.

In the event of such an evolution, Carp assures that the authorities have prepared a „Plan B.”

„The risks that they will dictate certain things are not there. They have no choice: either they start the integration process and understand that they are part of the Republic of Moldova and the separatism game ends, or we will have to discuss. There is also a ‘Plan B’ in the event that they try to do certain things, for example to blackmail the farmers from Dubasari. We are also considering compensating for the losses that they may have,” the Moldovan parliamentary leader said.

On January 1, the new Customs Code of the Republic of Moldova entered into force, which obliges economic agents from the Transnistrian region to pay customs duties to the state budget. Until now, although companies from the left bank of the Dniester were registered in Chisinau, they paid customs duties to the Transnistrian budget. The change has sparked the dissatisfaction of the authorities in Tiraspol, who accuse Chisinau of taxing Transnistrian companies. Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, Oleg Serebrian, assured on January 10 that, despite the pressure from Tiraspol, Chisinau will not give up these changes to the Customs Code.