The start of negotiations on accession to the European Union by the end of this year is the main interest of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, as well as all citizens of the European Union. Security and stability in the EU depends on how safe, stable and better integrated into Europe neighboring countries such as the Republic of Moldova are. Therefore, Moldova’s European integration makes all of us stronger and safer.

This is the message I have been repeating for the past two years to my colleagues in the European Parliament and other European institutions: we are safer when Moldova is close by. And here we are, until the European Commission and the European Council decide on the start of negotiations on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union.

We, the European Parliament, are united in our very clear demand to start accession negotiations before the end of the year. We were the first European institution to officially address this. In a resolution adopted by a large majority on October 5, more than 80% of the MEPs present voted for the start of accession negotiations.

The citizens and authorities of the Republic of Moldova deserve to be offered a clear prospect of accession. We know this is a long-term process and no one expects it to happen overnight. That is why it is important to start this process now and it is important to respond positively to all the European integration efforts that we have observed in the last two years from the authorities and citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

Since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and its citizens have acted in a deep European spirit and unequivocally chose to be with us, with the European Union, despite all the provocations, blackmail and manipulations by the Russian Federation.

The Republic of Moldova has successfully dealt with the refugee crisis from Ukraine, although it is the European country that has received the largest number of Ukrainian refugees relative to its population. By successfully dealing with the refugee crisis, Moldova guaranteed stability for the rest of the continent. We all know the risks of a poorly managed refugee flow at the EU’s borders. Moldova avoided these risks for all of us.

The Republic of Moldova is in close proximity to the European Union and Ukraine. Therefore, I have often pointed out at the European level that we would all be in a much more difficult situation if, in addition to the dictator Lukashenka in Belarus, Putin also had a pro-Russian regime in the Republic of Moldova. That is why we must continue to support Moldova’s European path.

The pace of reforms shows that Moldova is ready for the next stage

Immediately after the start of the war in Ukraine, Moldova submitted an application to join the European Union, and in less than 4 months, the EU received a positive response. We have granted the Republic of Moldova the status of a candidate country along with nine recommendations on reforms that must be implemented before accession negotiations can begin.

We now see that in just one year, the Republic of Moldova has made impressive progress in implementing all nine recommendations, including in the area of ​​justice, as well as in the area of ​​administrative reforms, protection of human rights and involvement of civil society in the act of governance.

At the same time, we, the European Union and the member states, increased our support for Moldova and accelerated the country’s European integration process. We mobilized a record financial assistance of more than 1.2 billion euros, synchronized Moldova’s electricity grid with the European grid and offered the Republic of Moldova access to the EU’s common platform for gas storage and procurement. Moldova has been integrated into important European programs, such as the Connecting Europe Facility and the Single Market Program, which will allow the country to develop at a faster pace until the actual accession to the EU. An agreement on the reduction of roaming tariffs between Moldova and the EU was also signed.

All these measures and progress show that both sides, both the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, are more than ever ready to move on to the next step: the start of accession negotiations. This is a very good moment, a historical event that we should not miss. – Read the entire article and comment on contributors.ro