Brussels, 24/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 23 March, Jean-Claude Juncker from Luxembourg (the EPP Party's candidate for the presidency of the next European Commission) called on the EU to protect Moldova at a time when the separatist region of Transnistria would like to join Russia again.
“After the events in Ukraine, it is now extremely urgent for Europe to sign an association agreement with Moldova very quickly - in other words, in the next few weeks”, said Juncker in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag (our translation). Russia's President Vladimir Putin “must know that he cannot do in Moldova what he has done in Crimea”, Juncker underlined, adding that the EU must “stabilise Moldova and link it to the West”. “Otherwise, it risks being the next victim of Russian aggression”.
At the European Council, the EU28 stated that they wanted to sign this agreement “in June 2014 at the latest” although they had previously chosen August as the deadline (see EUROPE 11044).
“We are concerned by (…) what can happen in terms of pressure. And we are ready for this”, said High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton at the Brussels Forum on 22 March.
From Chisinau, the leader of the European Parliament's S&D Group, Hannes Swoboda, stated on Monday 24 March that the situation in Transnistria remained “a concern with uncertainty and lack of clarity regarding Russian authorities and companies' behaviour towards the Moldovan government and people”. He commended the action of the Moldovan government which, while having a “pro-European vision”, maintains a “full” dialogue with Russia. In Swoboda's opinion, this attitude “is contributing greatly to maintaining stability and security” in the region. (CG)