VIDEO // Joint message in Chisinau: Presidents of Moldova, Cyprus – “A stronger European Union is an enlarged Union”

The enlargement of the European Union represents a strategic response to the security threats facing the European continent, and Moldova is determined to move firmly forward on the path of European integration. President Maia Sandu and the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides have made statements to this effect at a joint news conference held in Chisinau.

The head of state appreciated the support provided by Cyprus to Moldova during its rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. Maia Sandu stressed that Europe Day is celebrated in Chisinau with the conviction that the country’s future lies in the European family.

“In our time, the European Union is once again facing an aggressor that threatens the sovereignty of states and the international order. This is why, our joint efforts must be proportionate to these risks. For this, we need the European Union to be stronger, more united and larger. Today, each country that shares European values and works for them has its place in the European family. The enlargement of the European Union is a strategic response to the threats we all face. Cyprus knows what it means to have its sovereignty threatened and its territorial integrity violated. And it also knows what it means to be part of a strong family. Belonging to the European Union has strengthened your country’s stability and created space for development even in a complex regional context,” Maia Sandu said.

According to the Cypriot official, the main objective of Cyprus’s presidency of the Council of the European Union is the official opening of the negotiation chapters with Moldova, starting with the chapter “Fundamentals,” already in June.

“The main goal of Cyprus’s presidency stays the official opening of the negotiation chapters, starting with Chapter 1, ‘Fundamentals,’ already in June. This chapter is, in fact, the backbone of the accession negotiations. It refers to the rule of law, justice reforms and fundamental rights, and I am fully confident that, through our joint efforts, this objective will be achieved. A merit-based process is underway. And when candidate countries, such as Moldova, deliver results, the European Union must also honor its promises,” Nikos Christodoulides concluded.

President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides said that it is not by chance that his first official bilateral visit to Moldova is taking place precisely on Europe Day.

“And this is no coincidence for two main reasons. The first reason is that Cyprus has placed enlargement at the core of our presidency. Our clear vision is a Union that is autonomous and open to the world. And an integral part of the strategy for European autonomy is the opening and securing of the Union, including for Cyprus, which is the southernmost border of the Union and one of the Member States that has gone through occupation and continues to strive for peace, awaiting the unifying power of the European Union. It is absolutely clear that a stronger and more secure Union is an enlarged Union. Discussing these needs is a geopolitical necessity, and we want this necessity to be translated into action,” the President of Cyprus said.

Nikos Christodoulides underlined that Cyprus’s accession to the European Union in 2004 had represented the most important national project of his country, bringing prosperity, modernization and security for its citizens.

This is the first bilateral visit of a Cypriot President to Moldova, carried out in a symbolic context – on Europe Day. Thus, the visit reconfirms the partnership relationship between the two states, as well as the support for the country’s European path, in the context in which Cyprus holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026.

Following the discussions at the Presidency, the two heads of state took part in the events dedicated to Europe Day in the Great National Assembly Square, where they addressed citizens at 20:30.

Moldova established diplomatic relations with Cyprus on 21 February 1992. The state has been a member of the EU for 21 years and has a population of approximately one million residents.