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Moldova and Romania have experienced an extremely complicated relationship since Moldova's independence in 1991. Pan-Romanianism has been a consistent part of Moldovan politics, and was adopted in the Popular Front of Moldova's platform in 1992. Romania's relations with neighbour Moldova have been strained since 1994. Most of Moldova was part of Romania during the interwar period and linguists generally agree that the Moldovan language is identical to Romanian. Early signs that Romania and Moldova might unite after both countries achieved emancipation from communist rule quickly faded. Romania remains interested in Moldovan affairs but the two countries have been unable even to reach agreement on a basic bilateral treaty.
Moldova–Romania border
The Moldova-Romania border is a fluvial boundary, following the course of the Prut and Danube. This external border of the European Union runs from Criva in the North to Giurgiuleşti in South.
History
Main articles: History of Romania, History of Moldova, and Union of Bessarabia with Romania
In 1918, at the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Romanian Old Kingdom. Bessarabia, having declared its sovereignty in 1917 by the newly-elected Council of the Country (Sfatul Ţării), was faced with bolshevic agitation among the Russian troops and Ukrainian claims to parts of its territory. The president of the Council of the Country called on the Russian Commander-in-Chief in Iaşi, Dmitry Shcherbachev, to send troops to protect the country. Having no troops, he transmitted the request to the Romanians, whose military intervention was met with protest by the presidents of the Council of the Country and of the provisional government of Bessarabia and by the Soviet of Chişinău. Bessarabia declared independence from Russia on January 24, 1918, and, on April 9, 1918, Sfatul Ţării voted union with Romania: of the 148 deputies, 86 voted for union, 3 against, 36 abstained (mostly the deputies representing the minorities, 50% of Bessarabia's population at the time) and 13 were not present.
The union of Bessarabia with Romania was ratified in 1920 by the Treaty of Paris, which however was not recognized by the Russian SFSR and the United States of America (the United States abstaining due to the Treaty of Trianon).
Romania retained Bessarabia from 1918 to 1940, when it accepted to give up Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union after an ultimatum. During World War II, Romania (in alliance with the Axis Powers) took back Bessarabia and was awarded further territorial gains at the expense of the Soviet Union (Transnistria; this was lost again as the tide of war turned) as compensation for Northern Transylvania, lost to Hungary in 1940.
Romanian-Moldovan SSR relations
In August 1976, Nicolae Ceauşescu, his wife, and his son were the first high-level Romanian visitors to the Moldavian SSR since World War II. The Moldavian CP First Secretary Ivan Bodiul met them at the frontier and escorted them to Chişinău. In December 1976, Bodiul and his wife Claudia arrived for a return visit of five days at Ceauşescu's invitation. Bodiul's visit was a "first" in the history of postwar bilateral relations. At one of his meetings in Bucharest, Bodiul said that "the good relationship was initiated by Ceauşescu's visit to Soviet Moldavia, which led to the expansion of contacts and exchanges in all fields."
On November 5, 1978 the Stânca-Costeşti Hydroelectrical Plant (at Stânca-Costeşti) on Prut was inaugurated six years after ratification of the basic Romanian-Soviet agreement on its construction. Romania was represented by Ion Iliescu, while Bodiul represented the USSR.
A visit was paid from 14 to 16 June 1979, to the Moldavian SSR by a Romanian Communist Party delegation headed by Ion Iliescu, Political Executive Committee alternate member and Iaşi County Party Committee First Secretary.
Recognition by Romania
Romania was the first state to recognize the independent Republic of Moldova – only a few hours, in fact, after the declaration of independence was issued by the Moldovan parliament. From the declaration of the Romanian Government made on that occasion it clearly resulted that, in the opinion of the authorities in Bucharest, Moldova's independence was considered as a form of emancipation from Moscow's tutelage and a step towards the reunification with Romania:
Proclamarea unui stat românesc independent pe teritoriile anexate cu forţa în urma înţelegerilor secrete stabilite prin Pactul Molotov-Ribbentrop reprezintă un pas decisiv spre înlăturarea pe cale paşnică a consecinţelor nefaste ale acestuia, îndreptate împotriva drepturilor şi intereselor poporului român.
Within a few days agreements were signed for the establishment of diplomatic ties. Within a few weeks, visa and passport-free border regimes were established, allowing Romanian and Moldovan citizens to travel across the border with identity cards only. Already in 1991, Romania started donating books for Moldovan libraries and textbooks for schools and began to offer scholarships to Moldovan students to study in Romanian high schools and universities.
During the War of Transnistria, Romania was the only nation to support Moldova. Transnistria received support from Russia and Ukraine, meaning Moldovan forces were pitted against not only against Transnistrian troops but also Russian cossacks and volunteers, as well as Ukrainian volunteers. Romania, however, sent a contingent of volunteers and military advisers to fight alongside Moldovan forces, as well as supplying Moldova with weapons and equipment.
On April 14, 1994, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies adopted a declaration of protest against the decision of the Moldovan Parliament in favor of accession to the CIS. The protest contained serious accusations to the legislative body of the newly established neighboring country:
Votul Parlamentului de la Chişinău reconfirmă, în mod regretabil, Pactul criminal şi anulează iresponsabil un drept al naţiunii române de a trăi în integritatea spaţiului ei istoric şi spiritual ... Prin poziţia geografică, cultură, istorie şi traditii, locul natural al fraţilor noştri de peste Prut este, fără îndoială, împreună cu noi, în marea familie a naţiunilor europene şi nicidecum în cadrul unei structuri euro-asiatice.
2009 diplomatic row
The civil unrest in Moldova in April 2009 led to a diplomatic row between the countries, after President Voronin accused Romania of being the force behind the riots in Chişinău. Romania denied all charges of being involved in the protests.
The Romanian ambassador in Moldova, Filip Teodorescu was declared persona non grata by the Moldovan government, being required to leave the country within 24 hours. The following day, the Romanian parliament nominated a senior diplomat, Mihnea Constantinescu, as the new ambassador to Moldova, but two weeks later the Moldovan government rejected him without explanation, deepening the crisis.
The Moldovan government instituted visa requirements for Romanian citizens and closed the border between Romania and Moldova on April 7. Moldovan students studying in Romania and international journalists were not allowed to enter the country. The following day, train connections between Romania and Moldova were cancelled for undefined period, because of "technical" issues. Romania announced that it will not reciprocate on the expelling of the ambassador and it will keep the same visa regime, with visas free-of-charge for Moldovan citizens. It also condemned as "arbitrary and discriminatory" the new measures brought against Romanian nationals in Moldova and has stated that the visa scheme was "reckless" and broke a Moldova-EU pact.
The Romanian government changed the regulations that allow foreigners who had ancestors with Romanian citizenship (including most Moldovans) to gain the Romanian citizenship. The new law allows people with at least a Romanian great-grandparent (instead of just a grandparent as before) to request Romanian citizenship, while it added a maximum term of five months for giving a response to the request.
On February 9, 2010, the Romanian Parliament approved a new ambassador to Moldova, Marius Lazurcă.
Unification movement
Main article: Unification of Romania with MoldovaA movement for the unification of Romania and Moldova began in both countries after the 1989 Romanian Revolution and the glasnost policy in the Soviet Union, advocating the peaceful integration of the two states. Individuals supporting the movement are called "Unionişti" (Unionists). In Moldova, those against the movement are called "Moldovenişti" (Moldovenists). Unionist organizations in Romanian and in Moldovan civil society include "Noii Golani" (The New Hooligans), "Deşteptarea" (The Awakening), or the movement "Basarabia - Pământ Românesc" ( Bessarabia Romanian Land ).
When the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was signed, the territories between the Prut and the Nistru belonged to Romania. Since the recognition of the independence of the Republic of Moldova many references were made in Romania to the necessity of eliminating the consequences of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. As a matter of fact, in June 1991, Romania's Parliament adopted a declaration through which the above mentioned Pact was declared null and void.
In the aftermath of the 2009 Chisinau riots, director of the Moscow Institute for National Strategy Stanislav Belkovsky reaffirmed his support for the movement, declaring he believes the civil unrest to be a prelude of a political union between the countries. Belkovsky had already authored another plan for the unification between Romania and Moldova, notably excluding Transnistria, which would either become an independent republic or, if it is unviable on its own, unite with Ukraine.
Dual citizenship
In 2001, the EU pressured Romania to require an international passport for all Moldovan travelers. Immediately thereafter, a substantial number of Moldovans began to apply for Romanian citizenship. Unofficial data from 2001 suggested that about 200,000 Moldovans also held a Romanian citizenship, despite the fact that dual citizenship was officially illegal in Moldova at the time. Due to the overwhelming number of applications, the Romanian embassy imposed a moratorium in 2002. Dual citizenship became an election issue during the 2003 local elections in Moldova. In November that year, the Moldovan parliament passed a law which allowed dual citizenship; this applied to other countries besides Romania, particularly Russia and Ukraine.
Between 1991 and 2006, 95,000 Moldovans have obtained Romanian citizenship. In September 2007, Romania resumed its policy of grating (or restoring as it says) Romanian citizenship to Moldovans who requested it. In response, the Communist-led Moldovan parliament passed a law (in October 2007) prohibiting anyone holding dual citizenship or residing abroad from holding public office. In 2009, Romania granted 36 000 more citizenships and expects to increase the number up to 10 000 per month. Romanian president Traian Băsescu claimed that over 1 million more have made requests for it, and this high number is seen by some as a result of this identity controversy. The Communist government (2001–2009), a vocal advocate of a distinct Moldovan ethnic group, deemed multiple citizenship a threat to Moldovan statehood.
The Moldavian law limiting the political rights of dual-citizenship holders was challenged to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Tanase v. Moldova. On April 27, 2010, the Grand Chamber of the ECHR decided the ban was "disproportionate with the government’s purpose of ensuring loyalty" of its public servants and members of parliament.
One applicant interviewed by Der Spiegel said: "I want to go further West with this passport. I don't care about Romania." The EU Observer wrote "Many Moldovans regard the Romanian passport as the key to the EU, according to Marian Gherman, a Bucharest prosecutor whose office has investigated a network of touts and bureaucrats who were expediting citizenship applications for money. “Everybody knows it,” he said. “They ask for Romanian citizenship only because it gives them the freedom to travel and work within the EU.” An official from the National Citizenship Authority, NCA, in Bucharest, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Moldovans had shown little interest in acquiring Romanian nationality until 2007."
According to a 2012 study by the Soros Foundation Romania, between 1991 and 15 August 2011 exactly 226,507 Moldovan residents have obtained Romanian citizenship.
See also
- Controversy over national identity in Moldova
- Moldovan Embassy, Bucharest
- Moldovan Consulate General, Iaşi
- Romanian Embassy, Chişinău
- Romanian Consulate General, Cahul
- Romanian Consulate General, Bălţi
References
- Anarchy in Bessarabia in Charles Upson Clark, Bessarabia, New York, 1927
- Results of the 1897 Russian Census at demoscope.ru
- ^ ROMANIAN-MOLDAVIAN SSR RELATIONS By Patrick Moore and the Romanian Section
- Template:Ro icon "The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Relations on the history of relations with Moldova"
- Template:Ro icon http://studint.ong.ro/moldovar.htm
- ^ Template:Ro icon "Voronin: România a declanşat revolta de la Chişinău", Evenimentul Zilei, April 8, 2009
- http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2009/04/09/nb-01 "Romania names new ambassador to neighbouring Moldova"], Southeast European Times, April 9, 2009
- "Dispute between Romania and Moldova worsens", AP, April 24, 2009
- Template:Ro icon "Două curse internaţionale feroviare între România şi Republica Moldova au fost anulate", Realitatea, April 8, 2009
- "Europe | Romania slams Moldova's sanctions". BBC News. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- "Boc promite că termenul maxim de acordare a cetăţeniei va fi de cinci luni", Gândul, April 15, 2009
- "Unionistii trebuie pedepsiti din toate punctele de vedere" (in Romanian). Ziarul de Garda. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- "Noii Golani" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- "Deşteaptă-te Române!". Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- "Basarabia - Pământ Românesc". Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- "Influential political scientist Stanislaw Belkovsky: Moldova begun the process of unification with Romania". Hotnews.ro. 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- Roper, S. D. (2005). The politicization of education: Identity formation in Moldova and Transnistria. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 38(4), 501-514 (507). doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2005.09.003
- "Moldova - România: vizele, nou prilej de disensiune" (in Romanian). BBC Romanian. 2007-01-05. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
- DUAL CITIZENSHIP RESTRICTIONS: CONCERN WITH PUBLIC INTERESTS OR FEAR OVER OWN CITIZENS pdc.ceu.hu/archive/00003691/01/Legal_Commentaries_2007-03.pdf
- Constantin Iordachi (2009). "Politics of Citizenship in Postcommunist Romania". In Rainer Bauböck; Bernhard Perchinig; Wiebke Sievers (eds.). Citizenship Policies in the New Europe. Amsterdam University Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-90-8964-108-3.
- "Băsescu vrea să adopte, lunar, 10.000 de basarabeni. Gândul a fost azi la botezul a 300 dintre ei: de ce rămân studenţii moldoveni în România - Gandul". Gandul.info. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- "Cetăţenia română pentru basarabeni: Redobândire sau recunoaştere?". Interlic.md. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- "Voronin acuză România că pune în pericol statalitatea Republicii Moldova" (in Romanian). Bucharest: Realitatea TV. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
- Constantin Codreanu (2007-03-08). "Chișinăul spune că Bucureștiul subminează statalitatea Moldovei" (in Romanian). Bucharest: Ziarul Financiar. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
- http://eudo-citizenship.eu/citizenship-news/339-moldova-dual-citizens-cannot-be-excluded-from-public-offices-a-summary-of-recent-court-decisions-concerning-moldovan-romanian-dual-citizenship
- Romanian Passports For Moldovans: Entering the EU Through the Back Door By Benjamin Bidder in Chisinau, Moldova http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/romanian-passports-for-moldovans-entering-the-eu-through-the-back-door-a-706338.html
- How to buy EU citizenship http://euobserver.com/justice/117551
- www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/romania-eases-fears-over-high-number-of-moldovans-with-romanian-citizenship
- en.ria.ru/world/20120424/173013770.html
- www.gandul.info/stiri/aproape-un-sfert-de-milion-de-persoane-din-r-moldova-au-redobandit-cetatenia-romana-in-20-de-ani-9566918
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