The powers of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia should be guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, former MP Fiodor Gagauz said, calling this an urgent necessity.
Gagauz, who recently announced his intention to run for governor of Gagauzia, said the ongoing tensions between the central authorities and the autonomous region are largely linked to the lack of constitutional guarantees for Gagauzia’s powers.
“This is not just my subjective opinion. The Venice Commission also says this in its opinion: as long as the autonomy’s powers are not enshrined in the Constitution, there is always a risk that they could be abolished by Parliament or the Constitutional Court, as we have seen recently,” Gagauz said during a program on GRT.
He added that although Venice Commission opinions are recommendations, he considers them binding for all countries that are members of the Council of Europe.
Gagauz said that enshrining Gagauzia’s powers in the Constitution would protect the autonomy from political decisions by any governing party seeking to amend the law in its own interests.
“This is how autonomies are protected in Europe,” he said.