Brussels, 28/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - Visiting Chisinau on Tuesday 28 April, European Council President Donald Tusk called on the Republic of Moldova to step up its key political and economic reforms.
“More needs to be done to advance reforms in a way that makes a real change”, Tusk stated at the end of a meeting with his Moldovan counterpart, Nicolae Timofti. In Tusk's view, reform of the judicial system and the fight against corruption are two priority areas. Reform of the media should also be continued, he said.
In addition, Tusk underlined the importance of remedying the critical shortfalls in the financial sector, including the banking crisis.
“I sense that only real, determined action will be enough in the current situation”, Tusk said at the end of his meeting with Moldova's Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici, stating also that this was necessary for restoring the confidence of businesses and investors - and especially of the population. At the beginning of April, the Central Bank of Moldova announced it had discovered that €927 million had disappeared from Moldovan banks in the form of loans for unidentified recipients. This represents 12.5% of the country's GDP.
Tusk hailed Gaburici's work in the search for a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), “which will be decisive for political and financial stability, and which will also open up other avenues for additional EU support”. Tusk also welcomed Gaburici's determination to undertake key reforms, stating that the EU was ready to support him.
In addition, Tusk discussed the conflict in Transnistria with his Moldovan partners, encouraging continued progress.
“Right now Moldova is facing hardship both for domestic reasons and for reasons of regional instability and uncertainty. We want to assist Moldova in building resilience to the outside and building trust at home, an issue we will discuss further at the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga next month” on 21-22 May, Tusk said. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)