site.btaTaraclia Seeks Bulgaria’s Support Against Moldova’s Administrative Reform

The councillors of the Taraclia District Council, at a meeting on Thursday, unanimously adopted an appeal addressed to the leadership of Bulgaria and to the Bulgarian members of the European Parliament.

In the document they expresses concern over the threat of liquidation of Taraclia District as part of Moldova’s administrative-territorial reform and call on Bulgaria to defend the rights of the Bulgarian community by insisting that the district be preserved as the Taraclia National Cultural Region.

They note that such a step would run counter to Moldova’s international commitments to protect national minorities and would endanger Taraclia’s role as a center of Bulgarian culture in the country.

The letter was prepared and presented to the councillors by the independent councilor and honorary chairman of the Bulgarian Community in the Republic of Moldova, Fyodor Sabii.

The letter states that, according to the strategy for the reform prepared by Moldova’s leadership for the period 2023–2030, Taraclia District is to be removed as an independent administrative-territorial unit and is planned to become part of the Southern Region.

Despite the existing recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from February 26, 1999, and of the Venice Commission and despite the assurances of Moldovan President Maia Sandu that the district would be preserved as a centre of the Bulgarian community, it now stands on the brink of liquidation, the letter says.

The appeal of the Bulgarian members of the European Parliament to the Moldovan leadership has also been ignored.

In this situation, it has become clear that without a firm stance from Bulgaria’s political leadership, the issue of preserving the Bulgarian national-cultural district will not be resolved.

The councillors of the Taraclia District Council make the following requests:

1. Through an official note on behalf of the political leadership of the Republic of Bulgaria, to demand from the leadership of the Republic of Moldova, within the framework of the ongoing administrative-territorial reform, to fulfill its international obligations regarding the protection of the rights of the Bulgarian community and to preserve the Taraclia national-cultural district within its existing borders, granting it the status of the Taraclia National Cultural Region.

2. Through the Bulgarian Members of the European Parliament, to achieve the adoption of a corresponding resolution on this issue, addressed to the leadership of the Republic of Moldova.

3. To instruct Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry to hold the necessary consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, warning it that, in the event of the liquidation of Taraclia District, Moldova may encounter difficulties in obtaining Bulgaria’s consent for its accession to the European Union.

The councillors stress that they will continue to remain a stabilizing force in the southern part of the country, contributing to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Moldova.