Moldovan PM's speech at European Business Summit in Brussels

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished business leaders,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear colleagues and friends,

It is a great honor for me to deliver the closing address of the second day of the European Business Summit—a gathering of leaders shaping Europe's economy, competitiveness and strategic direction.

Just a month ago, I would have been sitting among you, as part of the European business community. Today, together with my dedicated team in the government of Moldova, we are working to take our country to a whole new level.

This Summit is about choices and opportunities—the essence of democracy and the essence of Europe. Moldova has made its choice: we embrace Europe fully and without hesitation.

We are returning to where we belong—in a space of freedom, opportunities and development.

The rest are just technical matters... and a lot of work.

In my closing speech, I want to share the perspective of a country undergoing unprecedented transformation—a country aligning its legislation, institutions, economy and business environment with European standards, turning challenges into momentum and complexity into opportunity.

Despite successive global shocks, the economy of Moldova is not just stable, it is accelerating.

We have faced enough unforeseen events—those 'black swans' about which Nassim Taleb talks: a pandemic, regional energy crises, external interferences and now a major war at our border. Yet, we have stabilized our economy and prepared it for sustainable development.

In the second quarter of 2025, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.1 per cent against the year before and by 1.6 per cent compared to the previous quarter—a modest growth, but a decisive break from decline.

Growth is driven by:

Construction (+7.2 per cent), supported by strong investments in the residential and industrial sector;

A 20-per cent increase in the energy sector, due to domestic production and renewable energy;

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) (+2 per cent), one of our leading sectors, driven by digitalization and external demand;

A 10-per cent increase in service exports, which exceed goods exports by over 26 per cent—clear evidence of structural transition.

Private consumption is increasing, supported by real wage growth and a 30-per cent advance in consumer credit. Investments are expanding.

We inherited numerous structural problems—but we are moving forward. We have a plan. We have determination. And we are accelerating reforms.

Our European path is a national project. It's not just about quickly reaching the finish line—but about becoming the best version of ourselves every day.

The EU Enlargement Package for 2025 confirms Moldova's remarkable progress. Out of all candidate countries, we have achieved the most significant improvement in terms of readiness for accession.

And we are not slowing down. We are determined to maintain this pace and make Moldova a full-fledged member of the European Union by 2030.

Looking ahead, Moldova will turn resilience into sustainable convergence with the European Union.

Our priorities are clear:

Strengthening investment-driven production, innovation and growth;

Accelerating the energy transition—more domestic production, more renewables, more security;

Developing the ICT sector as a dynamic growth pole;

Expanding high value-added service exports and supporting structural transformation;

Increasing domestic demand through real growth of wages, responsible credit expansion and targeted public investments.

We will address inherited vulnerabilities through a comprehensive reforms’ agenda: modernizing regulations, better governance and an investment climate created to mobilize private capital and partnerships with the European Union.

Moldova is ready to accelerate. Moldova is ready for partnership.

The EU Growth Plan for Moldova—the largest support package in our history—is transformative.

Over 150 reforms will be implemented by 2027.

The Growth Plan is expected to raise the economic growth rate to up to 7 per cent by 2028.

On September 4, we launched the first EU-Moldova Strategic Investment Call in six priority sectors, with projects starting from 10 million euros and a mandatory equity contribution of 15 per cent.

This is more than assistance.

This represents Moldova's entry into the European investment architecture—a system that mobilizes private capital alongside European financial institutions.

The European Union stays our main partner:

Sixty eight per cent of Moldova's exports and 53 per cent of our imports are with the European Union.

This year has brought major achievements:

Full liberalization for more agricultural products, including tomatoes, garlic and grape juice;

Significant increases in export quotas for plums, cherries, table grapes and apples;

Moldova has become the largest exporter of plums to the EU—a sign of quality, competitiveness and trust;

For the first time, Moldova is included in EU regulations for products of animal origin and now exports poultry meat, eggs and fresh poultry meat to the European Union.

This is not a Moldova integrating 'someday'.

This is a Moldova integrating now—every day.

Over the past year, Moldova has decisively advanced towards European standards:

By January 2026, all Soviet GOST standards will be removed. Moldova has already adopted 100 per cent of the voluntary technical and safety specifications aimed at removing trade barriers, boosting the European economy, and ensuring product and service quality and safety across Europe, as well as 90 per cent of the applicable global standards in the field of information technologies and communications;

MOLDAC now operates fully at the European and international level;

Consumer protection legislation is aligned with the EU's General Product Safety Regulation;

The European Consumer Center in Moldova is already operational;

And we have launched a unified consumer hotline, integrating 12 authorities.

These represent solid foundations for a predictable and reliable business environment.

Moldova is becoming a digital pioneer in Europe.

We have achieved:

Fulfillment of all requirements for 'Roam Like at Home', coming into effect on January 1, 2026;

Full alignment with the 2016 framework on electronic identification and trust services, as well as strengthened cybersecurity standards from member states. We have also gained access to the EU Cybersecurity Reserve.

Our goal is clear:

By 2030, Moldova will be a fully digital, smart state.

We are developing a Sandbox framework for agriculture, health and energy and launching a national AI skills programme, in order to train 1,000 specialists by 2028.

Moldova has introduced:

New regulations for industrial platforms;

A national programme for industrial parks (250 million euros through the Growth Plan);

A 200-million-euros regional state aid mechanism that compensates up to 60 per cent of strategic investments;

A new law on late payment to protect liquidity of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);

The Moldova International Stock Exchange, launched in partnership with the Bucharest Stock Exchange;

A fully digitalized authorization and micro-, small- and medium enterprises (MSME) support system;

And a Credit Guarantee Fund covering 80 per cent of loans—11 per cent of the entire MSME crediting is already guaranteed through this mechanism.

This represents the opening of a market characterized by clarity, predictability and European best practices.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Moldova is no longer a small market at the edge of Europe.

Moldova is becoming:

a platform for growth,

a hub of digital innovation,

a reliable partner on the Single Market,

and a future member state of the European Union—preparing responsibly and ambitiously.

To the European business community, I say this:

Moldova is open. Moldova is competitive. Moldova is ready.

Let's build together the next chapter of Europe's competitiveness—one where Moldova contributes to the stability, innovation and economic growth of our continent.

Thank you for the partnership, for trust and for the vision of a stronger Europe.

Finally, I invite you all to visit Moldova. We are, after all, part of the same family!

Thank you. Je vous remercie!