CIS to issue bill to Moldova over unpaid contributions

Moldova will have to repay outstanding mandatory contributions to the unified budget of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that have accumulated over several years, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev told TASS.

“Moldova has not paid contributions to the CIS unified budget for several years, so experts have now determined that it must compensate for them. Apparently, a bill will be issued to it,” Lebedev said.

CIS Secretary General noted that he could not assess whether the debt would ultimately be recovered, but expressed hope that Moldova would pay the accumulated amount.

Lebedev also stressed that experts dealing with Moldova’s withdrawal from the CIS had concluded that the move would harm the country.

“This is a major loss of markets. In addition, it means losing the advantages provided by agreements within the CIS framework. But political considerations prevailed,” he added.

On July 15, the CIS Economic Court explained that all member states are required to make their statutory share contributions to the organisation’s unified budget, according to TASS. Unpaid contributions are considered debt owed to the CIS bodies’ unified budget regardless of whether a state participates in their work and regardless of whether it has signed decisions approving the unified budget for a given financial year.

The court added that submitting a notification of withdrawal from the CIS and the subsequent termination of membership do not remove the possibility of recovering debts accumulated during the period of a country’s participation in the organisation.

Moldova’s approach toward the CIS began changing after Maia Sandu won the 2020 presidential election and announced a course toward European integration while refusing to participate in CIS summits.

Later, Chisinau officially decided to withdraw from the CIS founding documents — including the agreement establishing the Commonwealth, its charter and the Alma-Ata Declaration — and notified the organisation’s Executive Committee.

The move launched a procedure expected to last one year. Moldova has said it intends to continue participating in CIS agreements and treaties that it considers beneficial.

The Moldovan opposition, including the Party of Socialists, has repeatedly criticised the government’s policy of distancing the country from the CIS, arguing that it contradicts the interests of Moldova and its citizens.

By Jeyhun Aghazada