President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, elected in 2020 on a pro-European and anti-corruption platform, expressed hope on Thursday that her country will join the European Union by 2030, Reuters reported.

“My wishes are very ambitious,” Sandu said in statements broadcast on the public TV channel Moldova-1. “I think we should become members of the European Union by the end of this decade.”

In June, the EU accepted the candidacy of the Republic of Moldova for accession, granting the same status to Ukraine. This decision was a diplomatic triumph for Maja Sandu, who leads one of the poorest countries in Europe, which faces numerous economic problems, Reuters noted.

Joining the EU involves a long and complex process of aligning legislation with European law, but Dumitru Alaiba, the new economy minister, told Reuters this month that he was drawing up a long-term reform plan and would cut red tape to lay the foundations for a business-friendly economy and speed up accession to the EU. He said his priorities would be to deregulate the economy and overhaul a burdensome tax system that has scared away investors, allowed corruption to run rampant and reduced revenues.

Moldova is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas as it faces power outages caused in part by Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. They also face protests against rising inflation.

On Wednesday, the state-owned company of the Republic of Moldova Energocom announced an agreement with Nuclearelectrica of Romania to supply electricity to cover 80% of the volume expected to be in short supply in January 2023.

Romanian energy producers received permission to sell electricity to the Republic of Moldova at a limited price of 450 lei/MWh.

(Source: Agerpres)