The Republic of Moldova signs up for EU accession

The president of the Republic of Moldova has signed the countrys EU accession request

Roxana Vasile, 04.03.2022, 01:50

The ex-soviet
Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova has recently asked to be accepted in the
European Union. The move, considered historic for Chişinău, comes against a
very complicated regional context: the war in neighboring Ukraine, the crisis
of the Ukrainian refugees who have made it to the Republic of Moldova as well
as the presence of Russian troops in the breakaway region of Transdniester,
which is no longer under the control of the authorities in Chişinău.

We recall
that Transdniester de facto came out of Chisinau’s control in 1992 following an
armed conflict with hundreds of dead, which ceased only after the intervention
of the Russian troops on the side of the separatists. In 1999, at the OSCE summit
in Istanbul, Russia, led at that time by president Boris Elţîn, pledged to pull
out its troops and gear from Transdniester. Five years later, the process was
stooped in its tracks and the Russian troops are still stationed there.

Against this
background, even more complicated by the recent invasion of Ukraine, president
Maia Sandu on Thursday night signed the Republic of Moldova’s EU accession
request. The Moldovan leader said the authorities in Chisinau are ready to
achieve this national objective. ‘We have the chance to ensure a better and
safer future for the next generations’, Sandu says adding that the Republic
must have a clear EU roadmap.

Maia Sandu We are signing the EU accession request for the Republic of Moldova.
And we are ready to do everything for achieving this fundamental national
objective. We must take immediate
actions under the present circumstances and we are clearly seeing the opportunity
of ensuring a better and safer future for the next generations. Achieving this
objective is our duty towards the citizens.

The document signed
by president Sandu, Prime Minister Natalia Gavriliţă and Parliament Speaker Igor
Grosu, is to be submitted to Brussels in the following days. Georgia has also
submitted a similar request after Ukraine on Monday had asked to enter the
bloc. In its efforts to join the European Union, Moldova relies on support from
its European partners.

Bucharest,
which has been a staunch supporter of the Republic of Moldova’s independence
and integrity for many years now, is also fully supporting this country in its
efforts to join the European Union. Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis has recently said that Romania fully supports
the EU integration of Ukraine as well as that of the Republic of Moldova and
Georgia. The place of these EU partners are in the European family and Romania
will do its best to make this thing possible, Iohannis went on to say. The Republic of Moldova’s request to entry
into the European Union is a historic move – Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae
Ciuca says, giving assurances that Romania will continue to work side by side
with Chisinau for achieving this goal.

(bill)