Moldovan deputy premier attends debates in European Parliament within committee on foreign affairs

Chisinau, March 23 / MOLDPRES /- Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu participated in European Parliament's debates in the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET). He delivered a speech and answered questions from MEPs, the MAEIE press service has reported.

"The Republic of Moldova is a European state, with a European history, a European language and an identity. We pointed out that we have a firm mandate to bring our country to the EU, and the political support and encouragement of the European Parliament for the European perspective of the Republic of Moldova is a strong message of support ", said Nicu Popescu.

In the context of the war in Ukraine, the official pointed out that our country condemned the war from day one, calling for peace and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the neighboring country. Minister Nicu Popescu stressed that both the citizens and the authorities showed solidarity and offered support to the over 360 thousand refugees who entered Moldova, and in the last two weeks alone our country has constantly hosted about 100 thousand Ukrainians - half among them being minors.

The Deputy Prime Minister appreciated the prompt response and support provided by the European partners for managing the flow of refugees, including the opening of European states for the resettlement of refugees in their territories. The availability of MEPs to speed up the process of adopting macro-financial assistance amounting to 150 million euros for the Republic of Moldova was also welcomed.

"I pointed out in a concrete way that we want to deepen the Moldovan-community dialogue because we have chosen the European model, a democratic development, a state with functional institutions, a competitive and prosperous country. Continued alignment with the EU in various sectoral areas such as energy, transport, the environment, but also the deepening of security cooperation - will improve the resilience of our country ", Popescu said.

The official answered the most current questions from the MEPs, reiterating that our country was exposed and had to manage in parallel a series of crisis situations - the refugee crisis, the economic challenges, the complicated energy situation. For the Chisinau government, socio-economic stability and maintaining stability in our country remain strategic priorities. The Transnistrian issue was also addressed, and the official thanked the European partners for their consistent position in upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country.

"I am glad that during the debates in the European Parliament it was clearly and firmly heard that the European Union will continue to support the Republic of Moldova in our irreversible European journey", Popescu said.

Photo: MAEIE