It is absolutely vital for our country to bring Moldova into EU - foreign minister says

Chisinau, March 4. /MOLDPRES/- Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration sent a message on Friday on the one-year anniversary of the submission of our country's accession application to the European Union, the MAEIE press service has reported.

The message reads:

"Today we mark one year since the signing of the application for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union. This important event was marked by the Russian Federation's brutal war against Ukraine, which we strongly condemn and which affects our country. In this region that has become dangerous overnight, we can only survive as a democracy as a member state of the European Union.

On 3 March 2022, we submitted our application for EU membership, thus speeding up our European path, and by June we managed to convince 27 member states and the European Commission that we deserve the status of a candidate country. We are now working intensively on the implementation of the reforms recommended by the European Commission and on the transposition of the Community acquis into national legislation, steps that will bring us closer to EU membership.

In this difficult year we were not alone. We have received significant aid from the EU which has helped us deal with several crises: the influx of refugees, the energy crisis and security and defense vulnerabilities.

Moreover, benefiting from this support, we were able to contribute to regional stability and security. We have opened homes and hearts to hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war and delivered humanitarian aid to several regions of Ukraine. Our roads and railways have played an important role in connecting Ukraine's infrastructure with that of the European Union, thus contributing to the Corridors of Solidarity, the global community's solution to the blockade of the port of Odesa and Ukrainian grain exports. Together with the EU, we launched a security center to counter the risks to the security of the Republic of Moldova, as well as the European Union. We will continue to strengthen our resilience to contribute to a peaceful and stable Europe.

In 2023, we aim to fulfill the nine recommendations of the European Commission and accelerate the process of alignment with European legislation, so as to obtain the political support of European leaders to initiate EU accession negotiations in the near future.

We will also work with EU countries and institutions to sanction fugitive oligarchs. It is important to find legal and compatible ways with European legislation to prevent the destabilization of the situation in Moldova by criminal groups.

The Civilian Advisory Mission under the aegis of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and the funds we receive through the European Peace Facility will help us strengthen our capabilities to resist hybrid threats and external interference.

In the economic field, we aim to promote the liberalization of roaming tariffs between Moldova and the EU to facilitate trade and communication between people. We will also promote Moldova's accession to the EU single market, thus supporting our producers and the economy. In addition, we will work for the inclusion of the Republic of Moldova in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) to improve payment services and create a favorable framework for attracting investors.

At the same time, we will pay special attention to strengthening our country's administrative capacities, to improve the quality of legislation and public policy documents that will benefit citizens and bring us closer to EU membership.

Another important goal for 2023 is the organization of the summit of the European Political Community, through which we demonstrate that we are a reliable partner for the European Union and are willing to assume important responsibilities to support the common goal of a peaceful and stable Europe".

Photo: MAEIE