Moldova starts EU membership negotiations

Chisinau, 25 June /MOLDPRES/- Moldova and Ukraine start European Union accession negotiations on June 25. They will be officially launched at an intergovernmental conference to be held today in Luxembourg. Moldova's delegation to the meeting is led by Prime Minister Dorin Recean.

The mission of the authorities in Chisinau is to ensure Moldova's preparation for EU membership by 2030, says the European Integration Office.

Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov said that today's meeting in Luxembourg is a solemn moment of the start of accession negotiations, "a historic moment for our country". Gherasimov gave more details about the work of Luxembourg conference.

"The intergovernmental conference is a meeting where decisions are taken in the process of negotiations between the EU member states and the candidate country. At the first conference, the candidate country accepts the negotiating framework, jointly proposed by the member states, and the following conferences will be about opening or closing negotiating chapters. The first intergovernmental conference is the solemn moment of the start of accession negotiations, a historic moment for our country", the Deputy Prime Minister said.

The government delegation headed by Prime Minister Dorin Recean will present Moldova's country position at the meeting. The document was approved at the June 21 cabinet meeting. "The European integration plan of the Republic of Moldova is ambitious but realistic, with very clear indicators for each negotiation chapter, which will bring direct benefits to every person in our country", Recean said.

All 27 EU member states will be represented at today's meeting at the level of foreign or European affairs ministers, as well as the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine as candidate countries. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister of Belgium, which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union until the end of June.

"The first conference adopts the negotiating framework. It sets out the guidelines and principles for the accession negotiations for our country, the decision-making procedures in the EU Council, the ways of assessing and implementing reforms, but also what happens when the country does not progress, or more likely goes backwards," Ghenadie Marian, head of the Office for European Integration said.

Following the conference in Luxembourg, the Republic of Moldova and the European Union are expected to agree on the general negotiating position, the document in which the Republic of Moldova accepts the negotiating framework proposed by the EU and which reflects the principles and guidelines set out in the negotiating framework.

"Immediately after the conference, we will be presented with a timetable for the next stage of screening, i.e. the bilateral screening. So, at the end of this exercise we will have a clear picture of how ready we are to implement European legislation at home. We are now working hard to prepare the country presentations to discuss with our European partners to what extent we have succeeded in taking on board EU legislation and what the plans are for the further accession process. The aim of the negotiations is that at the end of this road, the Republic of Moldova will be ready to assume all the responsibilities, as well as to benefit from all the rights of a member state of the European Union", Rodica Crudu, State Secretary of the Government for European Integration said.

The European Council had previously announced that it would officially open talks with the Republic of Moldova on June 25, starting at 18:00, after holding talks with Ukraine at 15:30.

Moldova's delegation includes: Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov, chief negotiator; Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Popșoi, minister of foreign affairs; Deputy Prime Minister Dumitru Alaiba, minister of economic development and digitalization; Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry; Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru; Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun; Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu, and Secretary General of the Government Artur Mija.

On June 21, President Maia Sandu signed the Decree on opening negotiations on Moldova's accession to the European Union. "Moldova - a member of the European Union - is the only way of development through which we will ensure peace, well-being and a better life for all our citizens," said Maia Sandu.

The European Council decided at the summit on December 14, 2023 to start accession negotiations with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The decision was taken after both countries applied for EU membership and were granted candidate status two years ago.