Moldovan parliament speaker reacts to ban imposed by Romanian authorities on Chisinau mayor

The measure taken by the Romanian authorities against mayor Ion Ceban has been toughly commented by Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu. He accused Ceban of fulfilling a ‘’mission dictated by Moscow's special services’’ and having ‘’nothing to do with the pro-European vector.’’

'They Romanian authorities will explain the decision themselves. We are only reaffirming our opinion about this politician, who has nothing to do with the European vector. I believe he is on a mission. Look at his entourage - the Alternative Bloc. The mission is clear: a Trojan horse that was to be infiltrated into the pro-European camp,’’ Grosu said before the today’s parliament plenary.

The speaker emphasized that Ceban's political journey was marked by ties with pro-Russian groups and loyalty to the Kremlin’s ideology. 'For us, he has been, remains, and will be a Kremlin pawn. We are talking about a man who was responsible for the ideology of a pro-Russian, pro-Kremlin party. I do not believe a miracle happened overnight and he became pro-European,’’ Parliament Speaker, the leader of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) Igor Grosu said.

Igor Grosu also referred to the mayor's reluctance to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, suggesting that his support for European values was merely declarative.

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs July 9 issued an entry ban for Ion Ceban and two other citizens of Moldova.

Subsequently, Romania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Oana Toiu confirmed to the Romanian media that Chisinau mayor Ion Ceban was banned from entering Romanian territory and, by extension, the entire Schengen Area for a period of five years. ‘’This is a national security decision,’’ the Bucharest official said, without providing further details.

The Chisinau mayor said that all information appearing in the public space indicated only one thing: political vendetta by the current government. ‘’This will be the dirtiest parliamentary electoral campaign Moldova has ever witnessed,’’ Ion Ceban said in a video message posted on Facebook.

In response, Education and Research Minister Dan Perciun, who is also PAS vice-president, said that ‘’actions have consequences,’’ accusing Ceban of collaboration with the Kremlin and undermining Moldova's European path.