Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Cristina Gherasimov, said the European Union is concerned with systemic problems rather than isolated cases, when asked whether recent controversies over appointments to public institutions had damaged Moldova’s credibility.
Speaking on the television programme Pe față on Moldova 1, Gherasimov acknowledged that “any misstep” could affect the country’s image but stressed that the EU evaluates broader institutional trends rather than individual incidents.
“The fact that we have seen dismissals at the highest level and that the National Anticorruption Center is doing its job shows that, little by little, as a country and as democratic institutions, we are beginning to embrace the responsibility that comes with a mature democracy,” she said.
“Of course, ideally, such cases would not occur, but they happen in every country. We must do everything possible to limit them and prevent them from becoming systemic errors, as they still are today.”
Gherasimov added that Moldova has undertaken commitments that are only now beginning to be implemented, including reforms of public institutions.
“The European Union is not interested in isolated, individual cases, but in systemic practices and systemic problems that need to be eradicated. We have never claimed that our system of state-owned enterprises is perfect or free of problems. We know there is still a great deal of work to be done,” she said.
The deputy prime minister also stated that the government has committed to increasing transparency at state-owned enterprises, including greater disclosure of remuneration received by officials working within them. According to Gherasimov, such measures are included in the government’s fiscal reform plans.