Moldova’s prime minister Pavel Filip said that Moldova’s place is as a sovereign state, independent of Romania, even though there have been a lot of calls for the two countries to unite.
“Too much has been said about reunification, identity, language and I want to look at the concrete development of the country,” said Filip, adding that “All those problems that are sentiment-related should be left for better times.”
Last month there was a pro-unification rally in Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, which attracted about 10,000 people, including former Romanian president Traian Basescu, a well-known advocate for reunification. According to a poll, only 32 percent of Moldovans support joining Romania.
Two days later, the Romanian parliament cast a symbolic vote for reunification, on the 100th anniversary of Moldova joining the then kingdom of Greater Romania.
PM Pavel Filip is a pro-European, and his main goal is to bring Moldova into the European Union, despite the fact that it is the poorest country in Europe. A recent poll showed that 60 percent of Moldovans would vote to join the EU, but there are also many Russia-leaning politicians in the country, and previous pro-EU coalitions have been shattered by corruption scandals.