Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban Banned from Entering Schengen Area
Romanian government cites "national security"
Wednesday June 9th ZdG reported that Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban had been banned from entering the EU’s Schengen Area for 5 years. Later in the day this information was confirmed by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs which released the following statement:
"For reasons related to national security considerations, Romania has ordered the measure of not allowing entry into the national territory for Mr. Ion Ceban and two other citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The decision is the responsibility of the competent institutions in Romania, in accordance with the regulations in force on the matter,"
Later, speaking in a televised interview, Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Oana Țoiu confirmed that the ban came at Romania’s request and commented on the story directly saying:
"He [Mayor Ceban] is not a Romanian citizen, he is a citizen of the Republic of Moldova. I cannot give more details at this time regarding the national security decision other than that it is at a level of seriousness that justified the ban on entering the territory of Romania and, implicitly, the entire Schengen Area,"
Who are the two other Moldovan citizens?
ZdG has reported, citing confidential sources, that the other 2 citizens banned from the Schengen Area for 5 years are Vasile Tarlev and Natalia Morari. This has not been confirmed by the Romanian authorities. Tarlev did not respond to ZdG’s requests for comment and Morari stated that she has only read this in the news and will comment if she herself gets official confirmation.
Author’s Note: Longtime readers of Moldova Matters will be very familiar with Mr. Tarlev, as we have published multiple investigations into his aborted lobbying attempts in Washington DC. We have also covered Natalia Morari’s spectacular fall from grace in 2021 when it was revealed that the country’s most celebrated crusading anti-corruption journalist had been having a covert affair with fugitive oligarch Veaceslav Platon.
Are they Banned from the Entire EU?
Romania has not clarified what justifications or under what law they have banned Ceban, Morari and Tarlev from their country for 5 years. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has the power to refuse entry to non-EU citizens that they designate as threats to national security.
Under the Schengen treaty, which Romania became a full party to in January of this year, such a ban triggers an alert via the Schengen Information System to all other countries in the free travel bloc. This effectively means that these individuals are fully banned from traveling to any Schengen member, and by proxy almost the entire EU.
Mayor Ceban can challenge this ban in Romania. But various news outlets report that these bans are rarely overturned as nations have broad discretion as to who they let in.
Reactions to the News
The news of the ban has majorly shaken up Moldovan politics only a bit more than 2 months before parliamentary elections. Mayor Ceban’s Alternative Bloc has pitched itself as a pro-EU alternative to the PAS party, even as all of the bloc’s leaders are long time pro-Russian politicians. The fact that bloc’s main leader is now banned from entering the EU for 5 years on national security grounds is likely to shake Alternative’s pro-EU claims - possibly fatally.
The Alternative Bloc responded to the ban with a statement on their social media saying:
“The Sandu regime designated Ion Ceban as its main enemy. Today, at the behest of the Moldovan authorities, the mayor of the capital was banned from entering the territory of European Union countries. (…) The Sandu regime trembles with fear. The mere prospect of holding democratic elections in the Republic of Moldova has caused panic and confusion among the government, and the inevitable defeat is pushing it towards more and more mistakes, absurdities and crimes. Therefore, know this: whatever happens in the coming days, no matter how serious the repressive actions that the executors of Maia Sandu's whims have prepared against Ion Ceban and the ALTERNATIVE Bloc, we will not deviate from the chosen path. Truth, law and justice will prevail,"
Mayor Ceban also reacted with a video message where he stated:
"What I saw with you in the public space denotes only one thing: political sloppiness on the part of Maia Sandu and the PAS regime, which have no results at the national level and are inventing all kinds of tricks to stay in power. The dirtiest parliamentary election campaign is just beginning. You will not bring me to my knees, no matter what decision you beg for to get your debts back. The people are on my side and that's how I will continue to work,"
PAS Vice President, and Minister of Education, Dan Perciun welcomed the ban posting:
“Actions have consequences.
For years, you’ve taken money from the Russians and from oligarchs, alongside Dodon, to undermine Moldova’s European path. (…) You never explained how it happened that you were in Moscow on the first day of the war, February 24, 2022. You accepted electoral help from FSB agents – Iurii Gudilin, Olga Grak. (…) You show up and tacitly support an anti-European candidate in the Romanian presidential race. And then you wonder why a visit to Brussels or Bucharest and two or three ambiguous statements don’t convince anyone that you genuinely want European integration.
No. PAS is not the problem. Your actions are. Your history. Your documented ties to Russian intelligence services and your years-long promotion of Moscow’s narratives in Moldova. That has consequences. And no, not everyone is stupid. Not in Chișinău. Not in Brussels.”
Igor Dodon also commented in support of Ion Ceban stating that “the European Union is no longer what it used to be” and that “the EU is turning into a dictatorial regime.”
We’ll be back tomorrow with a full Weekly Roundup and any updates on the entry ban against Ion Ceban, Natalia Morari and Vasile Tarlev.