BRUSSELS, March 28 () –
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, indicated this Tuesday that he hopes that the Member States of the European Union decide to open accession negotiations with Moldova this year, assuring that the issue will be on the Council’s agenda by the end of the year. .
In a press conference together with the Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, from Chisinau, the community leader has promised to promote this issue in the European Council already in 2023. “I will try to place the issue on the Council’s agenda by the end of the year, to that then the Council has to decide on opening negotiations with these countries. I hope the positive decision will be possible by the end of the year”, he stated.
Michel explained that the first milestone in Moldova’s career to the EU will be the report presented by the European Commission in its annual review in autumn on the progress made in terms of accession of the candidate countries, and with that review in hand, the Twenty-seven can take decisions on Ukraine and Moldova, which already count as accession candidates, and Georgia, whose European perspective is recognized by the EU.
DENOUNCES ATTEMPTS TO DESTABILIZE MOLDOVA
From Moldova, the President of the European Council has focused on Russia’s destabilization attempts against the country, a neighbor of Ukraine and one of the most affected by the consequences of the war.
“You have increasingly become a target of Russian interference. In recent months, Russia and its proxies have increasingly attempted to destabilize the country, using energy, cyber-attacks, organizing protests and other disruptive activities. We condemn vigorously these attempts at destabilization,” he denounced.
The former Belgian Prime Minister has applauded the response of the Moldovan authorities to the threats and has shown his “full confidence” in the ability to deal with this situation. When asked if the EU will study a mechanism of sanctions against oligarchs implicated in corruption scandals, and with ties to Russia, Michel has assured that the European bloc is working to develop “legal instruments” that help Moldova to be more efficient in the fight against corruption.
