Prime minister thanks EU Ambassador for dedication to Moldova

Chisinau, 21 August /MOLDPRES/ – Prime Minister, Pavel Filip, had a meeting with Chief of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Pirkka Tapiola, today, who ends his mandate in Moldova, the government's communication and protocol department has reported.

The prime minister thanked the EU Ambassador for his support and dedication to the Republic of Moldova and, in particular, to its citizens during the four years of his activity. This period, according to the Prime Minister, was tumultuous, with ups and downs, a time when the Republic of Moldova faced a political, banking and economic crisis but also had some beautiful events: it obtained the liberalized EU visa regime, signed the Association Agreement with the EU.

"We appreciate the fact that the EU continued to be with the Republic of Moldova, which in some events disappointed in 2015. We appreciate that you did not abandon us and you were with us. Our goal is for people to live better in the welfare and to ensure the country's integration into the EU," said Prime Minister Pavel Filip.

At the same time, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers said that the Government would work intensively on the implementation of the new Road Map regarding the priority actions for the second semester of 2017, agreed jointly with the Parliament. This document also covers the short-term actions proposed in the new EU-Moldova Association Agenda for 2017-2019, as well as some conditionality in the EU financial assistance programs.

The prime minister also referred to the broad agenda of government reforms, including the central public administration reform, mentioning the importance of EU macro-financial assistance to Moldova. Pavel Filip said that the Government would take all the necessary actions to manage as efficiently as possible the financial assistance from abroad.

"We have to set priorities clearly and allocate the money coming from outside for the strictly necessary projects," said Pavel Filip.

At his turn, Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola urged the Government to continue to focus on promoting reforms that would benefit citizens. Among them, the EU official highlighted the reform of public administration, education, and the vocational system.

At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister wished Ambassador Tapiola successes in the new mandate, expressing his hope that he would still remain a good friend of the Republic of Moldova, regardless of the functions and mandates to exercise for him.