Moldova hopes to have an opinion from the European Commission next autumn to start formal discussions on joining the European Union (EU), noting that European integration has been “a main objective” for more than 20 years.
“We still have a long way to go in many sectors, but in the last year we have made important progress” and, therefore, “our goal and our objective is that, in the autumn of this year, we are in a position to receive a recommendation to start accession talks, thanks to the reforms we have implemented, mainly in the field of Justice,” said Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu.
In a meeting with European journalists (including the Lusa agency) in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, the official assured that the country is “committed to reforms for a long time”, which the EU “considers an excellent start”.
After obtaining the status of EU candidate country in June 2022, Moldova received “recommendations from the European Commission on the type of priorities to move towards the opening of accession talks and most of these recommendations concern the reform of the sector judicial system”, such as the fight against corruption and the reform of the judicial system, said the official.
“We are doing what is necessary to implement the recommendations”, but there are already “some very visible changes”, as well as “clear progress towards a fairer and more functional justice sector”, assured Nicu Popescu, in this meeting with Lusa and other media Europeans.
And he stressed: “Belonging to the EU has been a priority objective of our society for more than two decades.”
Moldova hosts today the second summit of the European Political Community, the cooperation platform for the security and stability of Europe, with leaders of the EU and other countries, now focused on peace and energy.
Speaking on the eve of the meeting, Nicu Popescu called it “a really important event”, in which Moldova will have a “unique opportunity” to “explain to the world what it has been doing in terms of democracy, consolidation, reforms and in the path for EU membership, but also to maintain peace, calm and stability on the territory”, given the war in Ukraine, provoked by the Russian invasion, even in the vicinity.
“We have to be able to show, prove and explain Moldova’s progress towards implementing the correct rules and preparing the country to join the EU,” the official said, noting improvements in terms of press freedom, gender equality and independence. of the judiciary.
The second summit of the European Political Community will bring together leaders from across the European continent at Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, 35 kilometers from the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, and about 20 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
The aim of the meeting is to convey a message of European cooperation, mainly to Moscow, since the event is being organized at the gates of Russia, with discussions focused on peace and security, i.e. the ongoing war in Ukraine, the interconnections in Europe and energy resilience against providers like the Russians, with much of the summit devoted to bilateral and trilateral discussions.
Portugal is represented on the occasion by the head of government, António Costa.
In what is the biggest political event organized by the country, Moldova hosts the first summit of the European Political Community organized by a non-EU country.
The first meeting of the European Political Community, an initiative that arose from an idea launched by French President Emmanuel Macron, took place in October 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.
Source: TSF
