PM Topolánek in Moldova

Outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek who is still at the helm of the Czech EU presidency has been holding talks in Moldova in an effort to calm tension following the communist party’s victory in the country’s disputed parliamentary elections. After meeting with President Vladimir Voronin, Prime Minister Zinaida Greceani and members of the opposition the Czech prime minister said he had received numerous documents and some evidence of potential manipulation which he would pass on to EU foreign ministers next week. He called for the establishment of a commission made up of government officials, representatives of the opposition and international institutions. Moldova’s opposition leaders insist the elections had been rigged, and say they have evidence of over 20,000 irregularities, including two different lists of voters.

Moldova is one of six former Soviet republics which have been invited to take part in the EU’s Eastern Partnership Programme to be launched at the bloc’s Prague summit on May 7. The Czech EU presidency has stressed the importance of forging closer ties with the former Soviet republics in order to motivate them on the road to democracy. The Eastern Partnership Programme aims to facilitate visa agreements, free trade deals and strategic partnership agreements.