Explainer 23 - Inclusion of EU integration in Moldova's Constitution through the referendum
Similarities and discrepancies between the Moldovan initiative and the current constitutional texts of Ukraine and Georgia.
The Moldovan ruling party has presented constitutional provisions that, through a referendum, aim to include European integration as an irreversible process. The proposed changes go beyond that.
The Moldovan parliament today published proposed changes to the constitution that should be voted on by the people during the constitutional referendum scheduled for the same day as this fall's presidential elections.
The proposed changes to the current version of Moldovan Constitution:
We, the people of the Republic of Moldova, directly exercising our national sovereignty and the right to participate in the administration of public affairs, based on art. 2, art. 39 and art. 75 of the Constitution,
we adopt this law.
Art. I. – The Constitution of the Republic of Moldova (republished in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, 2016, no. 78, art. 140), with subsequent amendments, is amended as follows:
1. The Preamble of the Constitution is supplemented with two new paragraphs as follows:
"RECONFIRMING the European identity of the people of the Republic
Moldova,
DECLARING integration into the European Union strategic objective of
Republic of Moldova,".
2. It is completed with Title V1 having the following content:
"Title V1
INTEGRATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Article 1401
Accession to constituent treaties and treaty revision acts
constituents of the European Union
(1) The accession of the Republic of Moldova to the constitutive treaties of the European Union, as well as the accession to the revision acts of the constitutive treaties of the European Union, shall be established by the Parliament through an organic law.
(2) As a result of the accession, the provisions of the constitutive treaties of the European Union, as well as the other binding community regulations, have priority over the contrary provisions of the internal laws, in compliance with the provisions of the act of accession."
In the next stage, the Constitutional Court of Moldova must give its approval and verify the conformity of the proposed changes to the Constitution.
In any case, the referendum proposal developed in parliament has some problematic aspects that need to be made clear to the public:
Firstly, the text proposed for the constitutional referendum is inspired by two sources. On the one hand, the Romanian constitution is considered to have been used in formulating the proposal, meaning that EU legislation takes precedence over conflicting national legislation. However, the current version of Romania's constitution follows its accession to the EU in January 2007. Today Moldova is only at the stage of accession negotiations. On the other hand, the text proposed for the constitutional referendum also uses a mixture of the Ukrainian and Georgian model of incorporating European integration into the constitution. In the case of Ukraine, the text of the constitution in the preamble speaks of European identity and the irreversibility of European integration, and in Georgia this is provided for in Article 78. The Ukrainian-Georgian model is more acceptable at this stage of Moldovan development. . . development of dialogue with the EU, since reference to the rule of EU law should occur after the conclusion of negotiations.
Ukraine
caring for the strengthening of civil harmony on the land of Ukraine and confirming the two-European identity of the Ukrainian people and the irreversibility of Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic course. https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/constitution
Georgia
Article 78 – Integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures
The constitutional bodies shall take all measures within the scope of their competences to ensure the full integration of Georgia into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Secondly, the proposed referendum was supported from a political point of view, citing the experiences of Ukraine and Georgia rather than the constitutional provisions of the member states. In some ways, the ruling party is going beyond the original purpose of the referendum by creating loopholes to introduce aspects that would theoretically allow the country to gradually introduce EU legislation that could be controversial, such as land ownership rules that would need to be agreed with the EU. EU on the eve of accession.
Thirdly, and finally, appealing to the public in favor of a referendum sounds like a campaign for EU membership, rather than a declaration of EU integration as an irreversible strategic goal. It should be clarified that countries that are not EU member states, such as Switzerland or the candidate countries in the Balkans, are integrating with the EU at different levels and at different speeds, through convergence and compliance with EU norms, just like Moldova. . through the DCFTA, but this did not lead to changes in their constitutions that would ensure any form of EU rule of law until the accession process was completed.
The most reasonable way to hold a referendum, if the Constitutional Court approves its organisation, is to follow the Ukrainian or Georgian models, which assume the irreversibility of European integration, including European identity. The remaining provisions do not correspond to the current stage of relations with the EU, but will become inevitable after the successful completion of negotiations.