Government of Moldova taking control of army

A group of parliamentarians representing Democratic Party of Moldova (DPM) faction has registered a bill enabling the government to send Moldovan troops to international drills independently from the president who is the Supreme Commander-In-Chief.

The legislative initiative submitted by Democrats holding majority seats in the Parliament of Moldova is about a provision of the Law on the National Defense, under which “participation of separate units of the National Army with manpower, weaponry and military hardware in joint military exercises with military units of other countries outside Moldova shall be approved by Armed Forces Commander, i.e. the president.”

The authors of the new bill suggest replacing the word “president” with the word “parliament” in the provision.

Besides, the Bill looks to deprive the president of his authority to appoint the chiefs of command and staff of the carabineer troops and give that authority to the Cabinet.

“The purpose of the amendments is to prevent different interpretation of laws and obstruction of activity of defense agencies. Therefore, we suggest revising the mechanisms of decision making and transfer that responsibility to the government,” the authors of the Bill say in an explanatory note to the Bill.

As EADaily reported earlier, the government of Moldova sent 57 National Army officers to the NATO-led Rapid Trident 2017 annual drill in Ukraine, despite the president’s ban.

President Igor Dodon, in turn, promised to take disciplinary measures against the officers who ignored his decree. Prime Minister Pavel Filip, in turn, said “all regulations and standards have been observed and the president had no substantial reasons to ban participation of the Moldovan troops in the international drill.”

The Constitutional Court of Moldova has regarded the government’s actions as constitutional.