Romanias Senate to weigh Moldova unification bill amid constitutional warnings

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2 months · 10 summary articles
A constitutional law professor has dismissed as unconstitutional and unworkable a bill quietly adopted by Romania’s Chamber of Deputies to pave the way for union with Moldova, warning that unification cannot be decreed by a single parliamentary vote. “Unification is not achieved by a law in Parliament,” former Constitutional Court president Augustin Zegrean told HotNews on Wednesday. “It requires a long sequence of international procedures validated by referendums, with the law coming at the end to confirm what has already been decided.”
The bill, tabled by the SOS România parliamentary group, was adopted tacitly by the lower house on 24 June after the mandatory 45-day constitutional review period expired, and has now moved to the Senate, which holds the decisive mandate in such cases.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from Moldova’s former president Igor Dodon, who accused Bucharest of pursuing “imperialist annexation” and warned that independence “cannot be ceded.” Dodon’s statement followed the Chamber vote and echoed earlier remarks in which he branded the unification drive a threat to bilateral relations.
In a parallel development, Moldova’s president Maia Sandu revoked the citizenship of Alexandru Balan, the former deputy head of the SIS intelligence service, on 23 June. Balan had previously been pardoned in a state secrets case and extradited to Belarus in a prisoner swap that secured the return of two Moldovan SIS officers. Romania now intends to strip Balan of Romanian citizenship as well, according to exclusive reporting by Digi24.
Legal experts argue that the Romanian unification bill, while symbolically significant, lacks enforceable mechanisms and would face immediate constitutional challenge. Zegrean, who led the Constitutional Court from 2010 to 2016, stressed that any merger would require simultaneous referendums in both countries, international recognition, and a final legislative act—not an initial parliamentary vote. The Senate now has the power to halt or amend the proposal before it can proceed further.
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