The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, gave his support to the fight against corruption and the pursuit of reforms in Moldova on Sunday 28 February in Chisinau.
“I am sending a clear message of support from the EU to President [Moldovan, Maia] Sandu, who is focusing on reforms, strengthening the Rule of law and the fight against corruption”, he explained in a press conference with Mrs Sandu (see EUROPE 12638/15).
According to him, the election of Mrs Sandu last November “opened an opportunity to strengthen EU-Moldova relations” (see EUROPE 12602/22). “But the scale of this opportunity will depend on the political will of our Moldovan partners”, warned Mr Michel, adding that EU support was linked to strict conditionality on respect for the Rule of law and democratic standards.
According to the President of the European Council, early elections, called for by Mrs Sandu, “are the best chance to put in place a Parliament ready to support the President’s reforms”. “We expect all political actors to act in the best interest of the Moldovan people”, he said. “In order to move forward more quickly, justice reform and the fight against corruption need the support of Parliament”, said Mrs Sandu, who called for early parliamentary elections and the confirmation of a government with the full support of Parliament.
Cooperation in the fight against Covid-19
The President also returned to the fight against Covid-19. The day before Mr Michel’s visit, Moldova had received 21,600 doses of Covid-19 vaccine delivered from Romania. This delivery follows Moldova’s request for vaccines under the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism. “We expect other vaccines to arrive in the coming days”, said Mr Michel, recalling that the country will also benefit from the Covax Facility.
Mr Michel recalled that since the beginning of the pandemic, the EU had mobilised 108 million euros to provide protective equipment, strengthen the health system and support socio-economic recovery. Moldova has already benefited from 50 million euros of emergency macro-financial assistance from the EU and a further 50 million euros will come as a second tranche once the mutually agreed conditions have been met (see EUROPE 12609/35). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)