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Senior official for European affairs with Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) Daniela Gitman paid a visit to Chisinau, Moldova, between January 17-19, together with Finland's Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen, reconfirming the full solidarity of Romania and Finland towards Moldova amid the war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, told Agerpres.
According to MAE, the Romanian and Finnish officials reconfirmed the support of their countries for the European integration of Moldova.
Gitman and Tuppurainen met Moldova's Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu, and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu.
Gitman had a bilateral meeting with Popescu, as well as a round of political consultations with Vladimir Cuc, a senior official with Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.
"Discussions took place against the background of a complex European agenda marked by the preparation of important events, such as the EU-Moldova Association Council (February 7, Brussels), the second meeting of the European Political Community (June 1, Chisinau) and the fourth meeting of the Moldova Support Platform (Chisinau). The subjects covered mainly concerned the multidimensional assistance provided by Romania to Moldova, with emphasis on the advancement of the European integration process, support for which the Moldovan officials expressed their appreciation during the visit," the statement reads.
During her meetings, the Romanian official welcomed the firm commitment of the Moldovan government to advance on the path to EU accession based on substantial reforms, underlining the importance of the quality and sustainability of the measures to implement the recommendations included in the European Commission's Opinion of June 17, 2022.
Gitman reconfirmed Romania's full support for boosting the EU accession process and the fastest possible integration of Moldova with the EU single market.
"This approach is illustrated both by the constant steps undertaken by Romania at the European level, in dialogue with the European institutions and in the relationship with the EU member states, as well as by the bilateral assistance provided along the lines of a transfer of expertise, the transposition of legislation and professional training of experts involved in the European integration process. The Romanian official also emphasised the need for the European Union to continue multisectoral support for Moldova as a candidate state for EU accession, including support for strengthening resilience and energy security, at a time of unprecedented geopolitical challenges," the MAE statement also shows.
Also discussed were the security situation as well as ways to capitalise on the opportunities opened up by regional co-operation in advancing the reform processes in the EU candidate states, as Moldova is holding of the Chairmanship-in-Office of the Central European Initiative.
