Moldova and the European Union officially started negotiations on our country’s accession to the EU.
This was announced during the first intergovernmental ministerial conference held in Luxembourg, which marked the beginning of these negotiations. As noted in the official communication of the EU Council, the event followed the decision of the European Council on 14-15 December 2023 to open accession negotiations for Moldova and the approval by the EU Council on 21 June of the negotiating framework for negotiations with Moldova in accordance with the revised enlargement methodology. The EU delegation to the Luxembourg conference was led by Belgian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib, who was accompanied by Neighborhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi. The Moldovan delegation was headed by Prime Minister Dorin Recean. “Congratulations to Moldova for passing a cardinal milestone on its EU accession path. The opening of accession negotiations only two years after the granting of candidate status is a testament to Moldova’s resoluteness to fulfilling the EU reform agenda. As we open this new chapter in our relations, it is important to continue pursuing the reform efforts diligently. The future of Moldova and its citizens lies within the European Union,” said Hadja Lahbib. According to her, the EU reaffirms its strong condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and is ready to continue to provide all necessary support to Moldova and its people in solving problems related to the war, as well as strengthening the resilience, security and stability of our country. The EU emphasized that Moldova is already a close partner of the EU. The Association Agreement with the EU, which also includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, took effect in 2016 and has been provisionally applied since 2014. It forms the basis for broad cooperation between the EU and Moldova in a wide range of areas. On 21 May 2024, Moldova signed a Security and Defense Partnership with the EU - the first of its kind with any partner country. The EU has now invited the Commission to continue assessing Moldova's state of readiness to begin negotiations on specific areas and identifying the issues that are most likely to arise during the negotiations, starting with the cluster of fundamental indicators, which, according to the framework of the negotiations, will be opened first. As a future Member State, Moldova is expected to continue to adhere to the values listed in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, namely respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. // 26.06.2024 - InfoMarket.
