Talks on Energy and Trans-European Networks Chapters conclude in Brussels

The discussions on Chapter 15 – Energy and Chapter 21 – Trans-European Networks in energy have ended in Brussels. According to the authorities, Moldova has made significant progress in the energy sector through concrete measures to diversify natural gas and electricity supply routes.

Thus, Chapter 15 – Energy refers to aligning national legislation with EU energy standards, focusing on energy security, diversification of sources, market’s liberalization for gas and electricity, enhancing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energies. At the same time, Chapter 21 – Trans-European Networks aims at integrating the country into the European transport and energy infrastructures by connecting to the TEN-T (transport) and TEN-E (energy) networks.

Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov said that, for  Moldova, these chapters were essential in the accession process, as they contribute to reducing energy dependency, modernizing infrastructure and aligning with European standards.

“Together with several colleagues from state institutions, such as the Ministry of Energy, the National Energy Regulatory Agency, the National Center for Sustainable Energy, the Energy Projects Implementation Unit, the state enterprise Moldelectrica, the Center for Legal Harmonization and the European Integration Office - we presented to the European Commission experts what our country's legislation consists in and how the energy sector institutions work,” said Cristina Gherasimov.

The official emphasized that these were the last chapters analyzed this summer.

“I thank all teams from Chisinau and Brussels for their work. We will return in September to review the final four negotiation chapters,” said Cristina Gherasimov.

The technical discussions in Brussels mark a new stage in the accession process and reaffirm the authorities' commitment to advancing on the path of European integration through sustainable reforms.

On June 25, 2024, Moldova began the EU accession negotiations, officially launched at an intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg. Presently, the authorities are coordinating the bilateral screening stage. The negotiations themselves are set to begin this year. The Moldovan authorities aim for Moldova to become an EU member by 2030.