Premium
Romania will remain the most sincere supporter of Moldova's efforts on the European path, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said on Tuesday after her meeting with Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu.
"I particularly appreciate the interest of the Prime Minister and the Government she is leading to strengthen the special relationship with Romania. I assure you that we are ready to respond accordingly. I take this opportunity to reiterate the full availability of the Romanian Government and myself for an excellent collaboration with Prime Minister Maia Sandu and the new governmental team in Chisinau in the spirit of our bilateral strategic partnership for the European integration of the Republic of Moldova, the essential basis of our special relationship in relation to which there are expectations and permanent interest in both societies. Today's meeting has given us the opportunity for a substantive dialogue on the priorities of our bilateral relationship. We have a solid foundation that we will build, especially as we have bilateral projects on all dimensions of economic and social life," said Viorica Dancila.
The prime minister added that during the discussions with Maia Sandu she emphasized the importance of strengthening the community of language, culture and history that underpins the special relationship with the Republic of Moldova.
"We have today sent a strong message encouraging the Republic of Moldova to continue with the European objectives and to implement the reforms assumed in the context of the Association Agreement with the European Union. We have shown that Romania knows from its own experience the challenges of implementing an ambitious reform agenda, but at the same time we assured that there is no other alternative for ensuring the democracy and prosperity of the Republic of Moldova, and we underlined that Romania will remain the most sincere supporter of Moldova's efforts in the European path. Thus, we assured Mrs. Prime Minister that we will continue to work within the European consensus to increase the benefits of the European Union's external action in the Republic of Moldova. We have shown that we want to contribute to the stronger involvement of the European Union in supporting the European path of the Republic of Moldova. In consultation with our European partners and the European institutions, we are ready to support the release of EU financial assistance to the Republic of Moldova and to provide bilateral expertise on a number of fronts, and here I am particularly interested in European affairs, considering the experience accumulated by Romania in the context of holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union," Dancila said.
The prime minister said that the talks clearly showed the common interest in advancing the multitude of bilateral projects, with a special focus on energy interconnection.
"We have encouraged the sustained implementation of these projects as they are a solid lever of support to ensure the irreversibility of the European path of the Republic of Moldova. We have also shown that through all sectoral cooperation projects we put the citizen at the center of our approach. We want to bring a direct contribution to the improvement of the living standards of all citizens of the Republic of Moldova. We have identified today with the Prime Minister the areas of immediate interest on which we will focus first in the next stage taking into account the needs of the Republic of Moldova. Thus, the two governments will begin work within an intergovernmental working group, and we will be looking at which of the ongoing projects require immediate attention. If necessary, we can also consider running new projects to support the European advancement of the Republic of Moldova. The outcome of the discussions within the working group will be capitalized on in the context of a future joint meeting of the Governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. This will be a concrete, substantial approach and with an immediate impact from the perspective of the common goal of improving the lives of all citizens of the Republic of Moldova, as well as a benchmark of our common interest in strengthening the bilateral strategic partnership," mentioned Dacila.
She assured Maia Sandu that Romania will continue to support the Republic of Moldova in relation to the European and transatlantic partners.
"I have also stressed in the discussions with the Prime Minister the major relevance given by Romania to the settlement of the conflict in the Transnistrian region, respecting the territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova and not affecting its pro-European vector," the Premier also said.
