Concluding EU accession negotiations, preparing signing of Accession Treaty by 2028 among goals of Moldova's Tofan Government

Finalizing the negotiations on accession to the European Union and preparing the signing of the Accession Treaty by the end of 2028 is one of the objectives of the mandate of the future government. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan today made statements to this effect, in the plenum of the parliament, during the presentation of the governing programme.

"The objective of the mandate is to be ready to finalize the negotiations and prepare the signing of the Accession Treaty by the end of 2028. It is an ambitious timetable. It will not be achieved through statements, but through enforced laws, functional institutions and projects executed on time. In 2026. we must open all six negotiation clusters, and the annual rate of implementation of commitments must exceed 90 per cent. But I do not want us to measure accession only by the number of laws passed. A European law transposed and adopted, but not enforced, does not change people’s lives. Sometimes it only adds a new obligation on paper," said Vasile Tofan.

The designated PM stressed that every new rule must be accompanied by institutions capable of enforcing it, human resources, realistic budgets and functional systems.

"European convergence does not mean blind copying. It means rules applied in practice, with real resources and without unnecessary costs. And where adaptation requires large investments, we will negotiate time and support from the European Union. We will strengthen the teams in the ministries and train the civil servants who negotiate and implement European legislation. Accession is not achieved by political will alone. It is achieved with expertise, discipline and a great deal of work. We will also pursue gradual integration before accession – into the energy market, payment systems, transport, research, education and digital services. People and businesses should not have to wait for the formal day of accession to feel the benefits," the designated prime minister reiterated.

In his speech, he also mentioned the importance of cooperation with the member states of the European Union, the strategic partnership with Romania, and cooperation with Ukraine and the other external partners of Moldova.

"We do not wish to join the European Union merely by asking for support. We have the responsibility to build a competitive economy and serious institutions that contribute to the Union’s strength," Vasile Tofan noted.

The governmental team led by the designated Prime Minister Vasile Tofan appeared today in the parliament’s plenum, in order to request the vote of confidence of the deputies for the government’s programme of activities and the list of proposed ministers.

For the government to be sworn in office, the votes of the majority of elected deputies are required. After the vote of confidence is granted by parliament, the new cabinet of ministers is to take the oath before the President of Moldova, at which point it will officially start its activity.