Page 17 - SE Outlook Regions 2022

Mustafa in the dock.

The trial against former Kosovan President Hashim Thaci,
ex-parliament speaker Kadri Veseli, Rexep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi,
who were sent to The Hague in November 2020 is expected in 2022 by
the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office.

The possibility of protests in support of Thaci when the trial starts is not
excluded.

Thaci was charged with war crimes committed during his time as a
senior KLA member. He resigned on November 5, 2020. He was
replaced by Vjosa Osmani, who officially took office in April 2021.

1.6 Politics - Moldova

After pro-EU candidate Maia Sandu defeated the pro-Russian
incumbent Igor Dodon to take Moldova’s presidency in December
2020, her Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won a clear majority in
the parliamentary elections of July 13, 2021. A government was quickly
appointed, headed by Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita.

Upon gaining majority support in parliament, President Sandu and her
party announced thorough reforms in the judiciary, starting with
external evaluation of judges and prosecutors. General prosecutor
Alexandr Stoianoglo has been suspended and investigations were
launched against him. But the process was hasty and created the
impression of poor coordination and superficial legal justification of the
actions, allowing the opposition to criticise the process.

Speaking of the opposition, Andrei Nastase’s Dignity and Truth Party
(PPDA) has expressed moderate support and frequent criticism in
regard to the new PAS government. Currently not holding any MP seat,
the PPDA can be regarded as “the pro-EU opposition” to the
government. The “pro-Russian opposition” is formed by Dodon’s
Socialist Party, which joined forces with Vladimir Voronin’s Communist
Party.

The electorate’s overwhelming pro-EU vote in the last two elections
was followed by political and financial support for Moldova from EU
institutions and individual countries, particularly from Romania. The
European Commission and Romania resumed the assistance
programmes suspended in the past for deviations from the path of
reforms and extended financial support to Moldova to mitigate the
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In November, the Commission
extended a €60mn grant to help the country overcome the natural gas
crisis created by Gazprom cutting the gas supplies by one third.

Moldova’s relationship with Russia is in the process of normalisation,
after Dodon attempted to bring Moldova closer to the political and

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