Petras Auštrevičius, author. – Madam President, in my capacity as a standing rapporteur and as a real friend of Moldova, I must confess that I am standing here feeling totally disillusioned and very sad.

Moldova, once called a frontrunner associated partner of the European Union, was the first to receive a visa-free regime and to initiate sizeable reforms in a number of fields. Today, the label that sticks to Moldova is that of a captured state, ruled by a non—transparent political elite, a sort of private company.

The judiciary – captured: the court decision on the Chișinău elections is a real ‘theatre of the absurd’, with the call to ‘get out the vote’ suddenly being outlawed.

The electoral system – captured: election laws have been twisted and adapted to guarantee seats only to some parties and eliminate others.

The banking sector – captured: EUR 1 billion disappears and no genuine effort is made to recover the funds and bring those responsible to justice.

Media – captured: the concentration of the media in the hands of only few players, results in a lack of pluralism and in manipulation and disinformation. The free media are struggling for their very existence.

All in all, this can only mean that a pro-European Moldova is still just a vision, a long way from reality. I sincerely believe in the EU-Moldovan partnership, as a means of bringing a better future for Moldovans, who deserve our firm support and cooperation.