The mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban, who has an entry prohibition in Romania and the Schengen area, announces that he is in Rome. “I have a few full days”

The mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban, who last month received entrance to Romania and throughout the Schengen area, announces on Facebook that he is in Rome. He filmed in front of the Colosseum and says he has a lot of activities in the next few days in the capital of Italy.

On July 9, the Foreign Ministry of Bucharest confirmed that the mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban, together with two other citizens of the Republic of Moldova, received prohibition to enter Romania, the measure being valid for a period of five years, both on the territory of Romania and in the Schengen area.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the decision was taken “for reasons related to national security considerations”. The other two Moldovan citizens who have a prohibition are the journalist Natalia Morari and the former Moldovan prime minister Vasile Tarlev.

Subsequently, the head of the Romanian MAE, Oana Țoiu, said that the decision to prohibit the mayor of Chisinau in Romania was taken in the context in which the Romanian authorities have been documenting its “complicated links” with representatives of Russia for some time. Ceban rejected the accusations, requesting evidence, and qualified the decision as a political ration.

Ion Ceban leads the national alternative movement, a member formation of the alternative block, which participates in the legislative elections that will take place on September 28 in the Republic of Moldova.

He is in the election campaign, and on Sunday he announced that he is on a working visit to Italy. It remains unclear how he entered the territory of this country, given the prohibition in the Schengen area.

“I am in Italy. Today I arrived in Rome and I have a few days full of activities, meetings, events, discussions that we will inform in addition,” says Ion Ceban in a video clip posted on his Facebook page, with the message “Hello from Italy”.

Who is Ion Ceban

Ion Ceban started his political career with the Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM), led by the former president of the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin.

Shortly, in this formation, Ion Ceban became one of the leaders of the protests organized by the PCRM against the Alliance for European Integration.

Later, Ceban announced that he left the communists team to join the Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), led by Igor Dodon.

In this formation, Ceban becomes secretary for ideology of the PSRM. In 2014, Ion Ceban was one of the supporters of the unrecognized referendum on the independence of Gagauzia and the accession to the so-called customs union Russia-Belarus-Kazahstan.

Two years after he was first chosen by the mayor of Chisinau with the support of the PSRM, Ion Ceban announced, from the Chisinau City Hall, that he is leaving the Socialists and that he launches the National Alternative Movement (Man), which, according to him, will be an alternative to the current governance “.

Recently, Ion Ceban, along with former prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo, also a candidate of the presidential socialists of 2024, as well as the former Prime Minister Ion Chicu announced the creation of the alternative block, to go together to the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova on September 28.