EU General Affairs Council adopts list of first persons sanctioned for destabilising activities in Moldova
The EU General Affairs Council adopted on 30 May the list of the first persons sanctioned under the EU's new sanctions regime for countering destabilising actions against the Republic of Moldova, announces the Romanian Foreign Ministry. Minister Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the decision.
"The approval of the listings is an important step in sanctioning those responsible for destabilising actions, and the decision is of particular importance in the current regional context marked by the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, as well as by the extensive and systematic hybrid pressures on the Republic of Moldova, including interference in internal political processes and attempts to undermine the constitutional order. Romania has a major interest in the implementation of this sanctions regime and the listings of persons under it, for reasons including ensuring security, resilience and stability in the Eastern Neighbourhood as a whole, as well as being a measure that will enhance the security of Romania and its citizens", said Bogdan Aurescu.
Political agreement on the creation of the sanctions regime was reached at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 24 April 2023, with the process of adopting the regime being procedurally finalised on 28 April 2023.
"Romania played a central role in the creation of this EU sanctions regime, as well as in the preparation of the listing package. The political-diplomatic efforts of the MFA resulted in strong support from all EU Member States and European institutions, which led to the adoption of the regime in record time - the fastest process of creating an EU sanctions regime to date," reads the MFA press release.
The European Union is applying for the first time a new sanctions regime for destabilising the Republic of Moldova. The list includes five people: the leader of the Shor Party, Ilan Sor, the deputy of the same party, Marina Tauber, the fugitive businessman and former politician Vlad Plahotniuc, the leader of the PACE Party, Gheorghe Cavcaliuc, and the Russian businessman Igor Ciaika, considered a close associate of the former president and leader of the Party of Socialists, Igor Dodon.
