The leader of the “Inima Moldovei” Party, Irina Vlah, has sharply criticized the authorities’ defense policy, stating that the Republic of Moldova should follow Italy’s example and prioritize citizens’ well-being over military spending.

According to Irina Vlah, Moldova’s intention to integrate into the European defense production process, recently announced by the Minister of Economy and Digitalization, confirms the continuation of the militarization policy pursued by PAS since coming to power.

The politician noted that between 2021 and 2026, the budget of the Ministry of Defense doubled and has already exceeded 2 billion lei. Moreover, under the Military Strategy, defense spending is expected to increase to 4.5 billion lei in the coming years. Hundreds of millions of lei are also spent annually on the construction of military infrastructure.

“All this is happening while some European countries are reconsidering their previous militarization plans and giving priority to their citizens. The best example is Italy, which planned to attract loans worth €14.9 billion under the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) program, but ultimately decided to use only one-third of that amount in order to avoid placing an excessive defense burden on its citizens,” Vlah emphasized.

She recalled the statement made by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who openly declared: “We cannot tell citizens that there is money only for defense. If, during a crisis, we are unable to provide solutions for citizens and businesses, we risk ending up in a situation where there will be nothing left to defend in this country.”

The leader of the “Inima Moldovei” Party believes that Moldova faces a similar risk. According to her, hundreds of thousands of citizens continue to leave the country, the economy is struggling, poverty is deepening, the pension system is approaching a critical point, and the social protection system continues to deteriorate, while the authorities keep allocating significant resources to military spending.

“If priorities are not changed, we too may soon find ourselves with no one left to protect. That is why my message to the authorities is simple: change your approach! Abandon meaningless spending on armaments! Citizens are more important than weapons!” Irina Vlah stated.English version prepared for publication.