Moldova prime minister Munteanu quits after eight months
President says she wants a new government to drive forward EU membership talks
Moldova's Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu resigned on Friday after just eight months in the job, with the country's president saying she wanted a new government to drive forward EU membership talks.
Munteanu, 62, said on Facebook he could no longer serve "according to my principles and convictions" but gave no further details.
President Mai Sandu denied that Munteanu had been restricted in his government action.
"Speculation that he wanted to combat abuses but was not permitted to do so is false," Sandu told a press conference.
"The prime minister had a free hand to run the government as he saw fit," she added.
She said she had hoped for "greater involvement" from Munteanu "in difficult decisions, and a stronger public presence to listen to people's concerns and explain which reforms we need to undertake and why they are necessary."
Munteanu will remain as interim head of government while Sandu starts consultations with political parties on a successor.
The economist and former businessman was named to the post in October last year by Sandu after her pro-European Union Action and Solidarity party (PAS) won a national election.
Sandu tasked Munteanu with reinvigorating the economy of one of Europe's poorest countries, which borders war-stricken Ukraine. Sandu and Munteanu are both former World Bank employees.
"I accepted the responsibility of serving as prime minister with a sense of duty and a firm conviction that I could help change things for the better," Munteanu said in his post.
Sandu told the press conference: "We have to rethink a certain number of decisions, notably in the field of fiscal policy and the law on public sector remuneration."
She said she wanted a "united and strong government team, capable of moving forward our country's aim -- to join the European Union."
The EU opened negotiations with Moldova in June on its potential accession to the bloc.
Political analyst Ion Tabarta said the fiscal crisis had triggered deeper problems.
Munteanu "never managed to be part of the team", he said.