Moldova has unique opportunity to rebuild, clean up - PM says

Chisinau, 28 September /MOLDPRES/- On a visit to Brussels, Prime Minister Natalia Gravrilița had a meeting on Monday with European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell, the government's communication and protocol department has reported.

After the meeting, the two officials held a joint briefing, during which Natalia Gavrilița made the following statements:

"Your Excellency, Mr Borrell,

Thank you very much for your invitation to Brussels. It was a pleasure and an honor to meet and openly discuss the relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union.

I am glad to have my first visit abroad as Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova to Brussels.

After years of failures and worrying developments in our democracy, in our justice system and after several devastating waves of corruption, my country now has a unique opportunity to rebuild and clean up. This is a great opportunity for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, and the EU is our essential partner on our path to recovery.

I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, and I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope we will continue to strengthen cooperation.

I discussed with Borrell the reform agenda in which the Republic of Moldova is engaged. In the coming months we will focus on:

- continuing reform of justice system and fight against corruption;

- COVID-19 pandemic management;

- promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation

- strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.

I am very glad the EU supports Moldova on each of these priorities.

As regards the justice reform, I would like to mention that we are in close contact with the EU and the Council of Europe and look forward to updating our dialogue in this area. I will meet with European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, to discuss concrete plans for justice reform. This is an absolute priority for our country.

Regarding the COVID pandemic management, we are grateful to the EU and member states for support in providing the medical equipment, vaccines and other materials needed to support our health system in recent months. Many lives have been saved thanks to this support, and Moldovan citizens are extremely grateful for it.

In terms of economy - the EU has provided Moldova with a generous economic recovery plan of up to 600 million euros in subsidies, loans, guarantees and investments. This support is essential to keep the Republic of Moldova's economy functioning and resilient. We want to increase investment in our country, improve the business climate, demonopolize the economy, facilitate the digital transformation and use all resources provided to Moldova to boost more sustainable economy.

We will continue to focus on good governance, strengthening our institutional capacity and on security and resilience. I am glad there is openness on the part of the EU to update the security dialogue and cooperation with the Republic of Moldova. Combating hybrid threats, improving cyber security, reforming key institutions in the security sector, discussing other urgent regional issues should be on the agenda of this dialogue. "

Photo: Government