Brussels - The European Union is to put pressure on Moldova not to demand visas from Romanian citizens following the two countries' row over Moldova's election violence, the EU's foreign affairs commissioner said Thursday.

The European Commission, the EU's executive, is "dismayed" by Moldova's decision to demand visas from Romanians, Benita Ferrero-Waldner told journalists in Brussels.

"This is certainly not acceptable, and we will pursue the issue with the Moldovan authorities on April 30" during a scheduled meeting on visa facilitation, she said.

Moldova announced the visa demand after it accused Romania of fomenting violence and undermining the state by sponsoring anti-government riots in early April. The riots were launched by students protesting what they saw as a rigged election on April 5.

Ferrero-Waldner condemned both the student riots and what she termed the "excessive" force used by the Moldovan authorities in putting down the demonstrations. She said that she would support the launching of an inquiry into the incident.

The foreign ministers of EU member states including Romania, which joined the bloc in January 2007, will hold an "in-depth" discussion of the Moldovan crisis on Monday, she said.

Romania has also come in for criticism within the EU for its bid to offer roughly 1 million Moldovans of Romanian ancestry citizenship - a move which infuriated Chisinau.

While citizenship matters rest in the hands of EU member states, not its executive, "given the implications for the EU and for EU-Moldova relations, we have encouraged the Romanian authorities to proceed with the greatest caution," Ferrero-Waldner said.

Moldova is one of six former-Communist states set to join the EU's proposed "Eastern Partnership," an initiative aimed at strengthening democratic reforms and the rule of law in the region, at a summit in Prague on May 7.

The partnership has been dogged by controversy, as it also includes Belarus, sometimes termed "Europe's last dictatorship," Georgia, which fought a war with Russia in August, and Ukraine, which is teetering on the verge of economic and political meltdown. (dpa)