Romania pledges experience sharing, support for Moldova’s EU accession

Romania will support Moldova in its process of joining the European Union, by sharing its experience gained and providing assistance in various key areas. Chair of the Committee on European Affairs of the Romanian Senate Rodica Cusnir  today made statements to this effect at a news conference in Chisinau.

The statements were made following a joint meeting of the commission for European integration of Moldova’s parliament and the European Affairs Committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament.

The head of the commission for European integration of Moldova’s parliament, Marcel Spatari, noted that the meeting had addressed topics related to the transfer of expertise in such areas as legislative harmonization, environmental protection, financial services regulation, the information space and the absorption of European funds.

“Relations between the parliaments of our states are very close and, I would say, warm. The today’s meeting is the first joint session of the committees for European affairs and European integration, in the context in which, in the current legislature of Moldova, the twelfth, the parliamentary commission for European integration was created for the first time. At the today’s meeting, we discussed more topics concerning cooperation between the parliaments of our countries. In particular, we addressed the support that Romania provides to Moldova in its dialogue with the EU member states, with a view to opening negotiations on the six accession clusters. We also discussed the support and expertise provided by Romania for the implementation of the European Union acquis and for the harmonization of national legislation, including in the context of implementing the National Accession Programme. There are areas in which Moldova still does not have sufficient expertise and Romania’s experience is extremely valuable. The Romanian Parliament will help us identify opportunities for these exchanges of experience. This concerns such areas as environmental protection, financial services and regulation of the information space. We also discussed a possible exchange of experience in the field of absorbing European funds. It is very important for Moldova to ensure a high level of absorption of the financial support provided by the European Union and Romania has considerable experience in this field. We will continue the dialogue, in order to improve our capacity to use these resources efficiently. Finally, another important topic was cooperation between local public authorities. They have an essential role in implementing European policies and in absorbing European funds. In this context, it is important to continue promoting the twinning of localities of Moldova with the ones in Romania, in order to strengthen cooperation and the exchange of best practices,” Spatari said.

Vice Chair of the Committee on European Affairs of the Romanian Senate Mirela Furtuna reiterated Romania’s support for the rapid opening of negotiations on the six accession clusters and emphasized that the goal of Moldova’s European integration by 2028 was ambitious, but achievable.

“Our presence here today in Chisinau, of the delegation of the two committees on European affairs of the Romanian Parliament, reaffirms the excellent bilateral relations between Romania and Moldova. We believe that the current, increasingly complex geopolitical challenges require strengthened cooperation at interparliamentary level. During today’s meeting, we highlighted more important aspects. First, Romania stays the main supporter of Moldova at the European level. Second, we reaffirmed Romania’s firm support for Moldova in its process of joining the European Union. Moldova is ready to open all six negotiation clusters, and Romania will support their swift opening, in the context of the progress made by the Moldovan state and recognized by the European Commission. We consider that the objective of joining the European Union by 2028, assumed by the Chisinau authorities, is ambitious, but at the same time realistic. We also know that the Parliament of Moldova is benefiting from a transfer of expertise through the institutional twinning project carried out in partnership with the parliaments of Romania, Greece, Italy, Hungary and Austria. We place particular emphasis on the process of the gradual integration of Moldova into EU policies. This is a process that complements, but does not replace, the enlargement process. This gradual integration will bring direct benefits to citizens through economic growth and increased prosperity. Allow me to give two examples in this regard. Moldova has joined the European roaming area, which means lower costs for mobile telephony. In addition, Moldova participates in the euro payments area, which facilitates financial transactions. In conclusion, we want to encourage active communication at parliamentary level on the topic of Moldova’s accession to the European Union. Such communication can help counteract disinformation campaigns that sometimes arise on this subject,” the official concluded.

After the joint meeting of the committees, the delegation of the Romanian Parliament has scheduled meetings with members of the commission for national security, defence and public order, with the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov and Governor of the National Bank of Moldova Anca Dragu.

In last November, the foreign policy committees of the Moldova’s parliament and of the Romanian Senate met at a joint session in Bucharest, where they approved a joint declaration calling for the opening of accession negotiations for Moldova’s joining the European Union.