Europe will benefit from starting EU accession talks with Moldova

Starting EU accession negotiations with the Republic of Moldova by the end of this year is in the fundamental interest of the people of Moldova and the people of the EU, writes Siegfried Muresan.

MEP Siegfried Muresan (EPP, Romania) is the vice-president of the European People’s Party and chair of the Delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee.

Our safety and stability within the European Union depend on how safe, stable, and better EU-integrated our neighbours are. Hence, the European integration of the Republic of Moldova makes us all stronger and safer.

We are now on the eve of a decision regarding the start of the accession negotiations of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union.

This is why, we, the European Parliament, have a clear position: let’s start accession negotiations by the end of the year. We requested this in a resolution voted with a large majority on the 5th of October.

We are united in our request – more than 80% of the present members of the Parliament voted in favour of the resolution. We were the first EU institution to ask for the start of negotiations.

Opening EU – Moldova accession talks is an important political signal at a time when the Russian war against Ukraine is affecting the security of the whole region. We know that accession is a long-term process, and no one expects it to happen overnight.

This is why it is important to start this process now and to respond positively to all the EU integration efforts made by the authorities and citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

Since the beginning of the Russian illegal and illegitimate aggression in Ukraine, Moldova and its citizens have acted in a European spirit. They have chosen, unequivocally, to stand with the EU, despite all the blackmail and manipulations coming from the Russian Federation.

The Republic of Moldova and its citizens have successfully tackled the Ukrainian refugee crisis. This is more commendable considering that Moldova is the European country that has received the largest number of Ukrainian refugees compared to its population.

We all know the risks that can be caused by a refugee influx that is not well managed at the EU borders. Moldova avoided these risks for all of us. By successfully tackling the refugee crisis, Moldova has guaranteed the stability of the rest of the continent.

Moldova is a direct neighbour of the EU and a direct neighbour of Ukraine. We would all be in a much worse situation in the European Union if, in addition to dictator Lukashenko in Belarus, Putin had a pro-Russian regime in the Republic of Moldova.

This is why it is important for all of us to continue to support Moldova’s European path.

Pace of reforms shows Moldova’s readiness for the next step

Immediately after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Moldova submitted its application for EU membership, and it received the European Union’s positive response in less than 4 months.

We granted the candidate status to the Republic of Moldova, together with nine reform recommendations that must be fulfilled in order to start the accession negotiations.

We can see that, in just one year, Moldova has achieved impressive progress on all nine recommendations, including in the field of justice, administrative reforms, strengthening the protection of human rights, and enhancing the involvement of civil society in decision-making processes.

At the same time, we, the European Union and the member states, increased our support for Moldova and accelerated its European integration process.

We mobilised a record financial aid of over 1.2 billion euros, we synchronised Moldova’s electricity grid with the European electricity grid, and we offered the Republic of Moldova access to the common EU gas storage and procurement platform.

Moldova has been integrated into important European programmes, such as the Connecting Europe Facility and the Single Market Programme, which will allow the country to develop faster before its actual accession to the EU. We have also signed an agreement on the reduction of roaming tariffs between Moldova and the EU.

All these measures and progress show that both sides, the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, are ready to move to the next step: the start of accession negotiations. The citizens and authorities of the Republic of Moldova deserve a clearer European perspective, so we must offer a clear perspective on accession.

Let’s start the accession negotiations by the end of the year so that we can schedule the first EU-Moldova Intergovernmental Negotiation Conference at the beginning of next year, before the 2024 European elections.

In parallel, let’s continue this path of integrating the Republic of Moldova into all EU mechanisms and bodies.

It is important to integrate Moldova into all European agencies and programmes Moldova is not yet associated with. And it is imperative to accelerate the gradual integration of Moldova into the EU Single Market.

These measures will bring concrete and immediate benefits to Moldova and will lead to an increase in the well-being of its citizens right now, without having to wait until the actual accession to the EU.

Moldova’s European future is secured. But it is in our interest to accelerate the EU integration process of the country.