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In the Republic of Moldova there is a firm majority for democracy, for freedom and for the European path of the country, and the Summit of the European Political Community represents a unique opportunity to show that the Republic of Moldova is part of the European family, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu said in an interview for AGERPRES.
The Republic of Moldova will host, on Thursday, the Summit of the European Political Community, which will bring together approximately 50 heads of state, prime ministers and senior European officials. The event is considered by the Chisinau foreign minister to be the most important diplomatic event in the history of the Republic of Moldova and a strong signal from the entire European continent in favour of the country's peace and stability.
Nicu Popescu also talks in the interview about the Action and Solidarity Party's governance after two difficult years and explains certain pro-Russian opinions among the population of the Republic of Moldova.
AGERPRES: The Summit of the European Political Community makes the Republic of Moldova more visible on the map of world diplomacy. What could happen for the Republic of Moldova following this major event that you are organizing?
Nicu Popescu: Indeed, this summit is the most important diplomatic event in the history of the Republic of Moldova in the last 30 years or maybe even more. It is also one of the most important diplomatic events worldwide. However, truth be told, 50 heads of state or leaders of some organizations, such as the European Union, do not gather in this format and with so many delegates very frequently and, in this sense, for the Republic of Moldova it is a unique opportunity to show that our country is part of the European family, to convince new countries, new partners, new friends of the Republic of Moldova that the Republic of Moldova is a European state, with a European culture, with a European language and with a European future, and we hope that through this summit we will get even more support for our accession to the European Union.
Obviously, this enormous presence in Chisinau is also a strong signal from the entire European continent in favour of the peace and stability of the Republic of Moldova.
It is a very clear geopolitical message that the Republic of Moldova is not alone in a very difficult region, in a very risky region, in a region marked by this brutal aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, aggression that generates enormous negative effects, including for our country, and this summit is also a strong symbol of support for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, for our country.
Obviously, on the occasion of this summit we will also discuss new cooperation projects that come to help the stabilization of our region, but also the development of the Republic of Moldova and, on the sidelines or even within this summit, more announcements will be made by our partners, who will detail the methods of concrete support for our country.
AGERPRES: It is a clear message that you are sending to the entire international community, but it is a message that you are sending specifically to Russia....
Nicu Popescu: It is a message primarily for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova and this message is that the Republic of Moldova is not alone. Moldova is part of the European family. This is recognized, supported and encouraged by the entire European continent, both member states of the European Union and 20 states that are currently not part of the European Union, but are part of this Community. Here is the main message for our citizens that the whole of Europe is united to support Moldova in the face of any type of pressure coming from the Russian Federation as well.
AGERPRES: States that may not love the European Union so much will participate in this summit. What do you think is the common denominator at this meeting from the Republic of Moldova?
Nicu Popescu: The common denominator is the fact that we have a continent, this European continent of ours. The biggest war since World War II is taking place on this continent. Last year, we witnessed the biggest military aggression against a state, and this obviously affects all of us who live on the European continent and beyond.
Through the viewpoint of this fact, this European Political Community was created, launched, initially proposed in May 2022 by the president (French, Emmanuel, ed. n.) Macron, but which these days will meet in the Republic of Moldova with this desire to demonstrate to the whole world, the entire continent, that it is united in our desire, all of us, to restore peace to the entire European continent, to not allow the aggressors to succeed in benefiting from the results of this aggression, and to work with all of us within this community on other platforms as well to bring back peace to our continent, to bring back normality to our continent, but also through discussions focused on concrete ways to overcome the negative effects of this war, in terms of energy, in terms of food security, in terms of infrastructure, the reconstruction of Ukraine, but also the improvement of the infrastructures that connect the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine to the rest of Europe.
AGERPRES: Despite the recent history that recorded the war in Transnistria, there are many Moldovan citizens who are on the side of Russia in this war. How do you comment on this attitude?
Nicu Popescu: It is absolutely clear that the citizens of the Republic of Moldova are united in their desire to live in a peaceful country, to live in a democratic country. Obviously, as in any democratic society, we have citizens with different political or geopolitical preferences, but the thing that unites us all in the Republic of Moldova is the desire to manage our own political differences through peaceful and democratic methods.
In the Republic of Moldova we have a firm majority for democracy, for freedom and for our European path.
Indeed, a minority of our fellow citizens - according to the latest polls, it is about 20 pct - would prefer the Republic of Moldova to integrate rather into the eastern space, with the Euro-Asian space, but even these citizens do not want to live in a country where the army, bombs, tanks, artillery determine in which direction this country must evolve. These citizens, regardless of their geopolitical preferences, want our schools, hospitals, homes not to be bombed as Ukraine is bombed.
I don't think anyone supports these aggressive, brutal methods from another century enforced by the Russian Federation, and even if at this stage they have certain preferences, they still prefer to be able to express themselves in a democratic society without being persecuted, without being beaten by the police, without being fired, made redundant because of their political or geopolitical options and, in this sense, these citizens also want and benefit from the fact that they live in a democratic country, like the Republic of Moldova, and a country that will continue to ensure peace and stability on its territory, including through the viewpoint of our European integration, our accession to the European Union, the deepening of our strategic partnership with Romania.
Thanks to and together with Romania, we will integrate our country into the European Union and we will offer, including to these citizens, continued peace, stability and calm.
AGERPRES: The same polls show that the Action and Solidarity Party would lose the parliamentary majority, if early elections were held tomorrow. What could PAS do to avoid erosion in government?
Nicu Popescu: At this moment, according to several polls, the Action and Solidarity Party benefits from the support of approximately 35-40 pct of fellow citizens. For a party that has been in power for two years, in an extremely difficult region, in a situation where the Republic of Moldova had major negative effects due to this war, inflation of over 30 pct, massive energy pressures, a reduction in the Gross Domestic Product last year of about 7 pct, so, compared to the current conditions, the support for the ruling party is enormous, it is quite good. Obviously, with the approach of the next electoral cycles, the objective is to rebuild a certain part of this support.
At the same time, support for European integration is greater than ever. This war demonstrated that for the Republic of Moldova the only way and the main way to ensure the peace, calm, stability and prosperity of our country is the accession to the European Union, the integration with our partners, with Romania, with the European Union, the development of relations with NATO and this is clear to absolutely all of us.
AGERPRES: Do you expect this summit, which you will host in the immediate future, to end with a resolution in favour of the Republic of Moldova, a firm call regarding the start of accession negotiations to the European Union?
Nicu Popescu: The leaders who will come to the Republic of Moldova have already started, a good part of them, to come with public statements of support for the Republic of Moldova. Obviously, also within this summit, but also on the sidelines of this summit, we expect and I am sure that we will witness clear statements of support for the Republic of Moldova, actions and announcements of concrete support, not only diplomatic and political support, but also actions concrete with a beneficial impact on our citizens.
And for us it is a chance to convince as many member states of the European Union as possible to support us in the fall, when we hope that the European institutions and the European Council will declare that the Republic of Moldova is ready to open negotiations with the European Union. So, the next step for us in the process of joining the European Union is to be taken in the fall and in December of this year. At this stage, we are predominantly focused on demonstrating, explaining the progress that the Republic of Moldova is making in the process of joining the European Union, including through this direct diplomacy with absolutely every leader of the member countries of the European Union who will have a right and a decisive voice for our European roadmap.
