ANDREW RETTMAN

http://euobserver.com/9/27953/?rk=1

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – EU institutions are appalled at Romania’s proposal to give citizenship to up to 1 million Moldovans – a project that could damage Romania’s standing inside the union.

If the scheme goes ahead and Moldova retaliates by making dual citizenship illegal, the EU country would effectively annex one quarter of its neighbour’s population in a scenario described by one EU official as “frightening” in terms of regional stability.

Several EU staff questioned by EUobserver on Thursday (16 April) believed the plan is political bluster ahead of Romania presidential elections and will never come to pass.

“This is just a proposal, an expression of will. I am not sure if it is not just a political statement,” EU foreign relations spokeswoman Christina Gallach said.

But the Czech EU presidency publicly rebuked Bucharest after a meeting between Czech EU minister Alexandr Vondra and Romanian foreign minister Cristian Diaconescu, in a sign of rising tension within the bloc.

“I told my Romanian colleague about our serious concerns of the possible risks arising from adopting simplified procedures for Romanian citizenship,” Mr Vondra said.

Bucharest on Wednesday night put forward a bill to extend the right to naturalisation for Moldovans whose grandparent or great-grandparent was a Romanian. Previously, only Moldovans with Romanian grandparents could apply.

The draft law – which still needs parliamentary approval – also cut the deadline for processing paperwork from six months to five months and dropped a Romanian language test.

The move is a tit-for-tat reaction to Moldova’s decision to impose visa requirements on Romanian citizens after accusing Romania of trying to stage a coup following elections last week.