May 8 (SeeNews) - Moldova's Constitutional Court said that the agreement to borrow 200 million euro ($216 million) from Russia ratified by parliament in April is unconstitutional.
The loan agreement between Moldova and Russia, the related Moldovan government decree and the bill approved by parliament regarding the loan were all declared unconstitutional, the Constitutional Court said in a press release on Thursday evening, without elaborating.
This decision is final and cannot be appealed. It and enters into force as soon as it is published in the Official Gazette, the court said.
Moldova's president Igor Dodon lashed out at the court's decision, saying it is a blow for Moldovan citizens that need financial assistance in the context of the coronavirus crisis.
"This politicized decision directly affects employees, retirees, the medical system, the business environment and the entire economy, which now needs financial resources to get out of the crisis after this long period of pandemic. The money suspended today by the Court should have already been absorbed by our economy in order to reach people," Dodon, a former leader of ruling pro-Russian Socialist Party (PSRM), said in a Facebook post on Thursday evening.
Former prime minister Maia Sandu, who is co-leader of opposition pro-European bloc ACUM praised the decision.
"The fact that some provisions of this agreement endanger the country's economic security was obvious from the very beginning," Sandu wrote in a post on Facebook.
On April 23, the Constitutional Court suspended the ratification of the loan agreement in order to examine it, after after opposition lawmakers challenged the agreement before the court, saying it allows Russia to claim the payment of debt owed by private Moldovan companies from the state budget.
Moldova's parliament ratified the loan agreement, which was supposed to help the country cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with the votes of 56 of its 101 members, on April 23.
PSRM holds 37 seats in Moldova's parliament, while the Democratic Party (PDM) controls 22. The two parties entered into an informal coalition in November, after the previous coalition cabinet of PSRM and ACUM lost a no-confidence vote and collapsed.
($=0.9265 euro)