On Tuesday 19 May, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, called for the opening of the first group of accession negotiation clusters for Moldova as soon as possible.
“A reliable, merit-based accession process requires effort and commitment on behalf of both sides. And Moldova is fully meeting its obligations”, stressed Maia Sandu after receiving the European Order of Merit. She recalled that her country had been ready to open all the clusters “for some time now”. The first group of clusters could be open by the end of June.
The Moldovan President said that her Order of Merit was due “to the Moldovan people, to those who chose Europe at the ballot box, to those who have defended this choice despite the difficulties, to those who work hard every day for reform, because they believe in a better future”. “And we want to move forward”, she added.
“The European Parliament believes that now is the time to advance membership accession negotiations because with Moldova moving closer, our Union grows stronger”, said Ms Metsola. In her view, the current positive momentum must not be allowed to wane. “If we have opened the door to enlargement by deciding that a country should become a candidate, the next step is to begin negotiations. If we don’t, what message will that send?”, asked the European Parliament President.
“The Moldovan people have chosen Europe. You are moving with determination towards membership. And despite constant Russian interference and attempts to destabilise your country, you remain firmly committed to our shared democratic values”, said Ms Metsola.
She promised that the European Parliament would continue to support Moldova in every way possible, recalling in particular that in its position on the EU’s next long-term budget, the European Parliament was calling for sufficient pre-accession funding for Chișinău to support the country’s reform path. “If we invest in Moldova today, we are investing in the Europe of tomorrow”, stressed Ms Metsola. According to Maia Sandu, interparliamentary cooperation is helping Moldovan legislators to transpose the acquis communautaire. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)