The Association Agreements that will be signed by Moldova and Georgia with the European Union on June 27 will lay the foundations of a partnership of reforms, which will strengthen democracy, the rule of law and market economy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a meeting in Berlin with Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, acting Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and Georgia’s head of Government Irakli Garibashvili, IPN reports, quoting the Government’s press service.

In their statements for the press, the four officials referred to the situation in the region and to the European integration process. Angela Merkel said that despite the crisis faced by Ukraine, Germany wants the EU to strengthen the partnership relations with its neighbors from Eastern Europe. She underlined that the EU does not want to compete with Russia.

Iurie Leanca said the crisis in the region is caused not by the European integration, but by the uncertainty about the integration into the EU because uncertainty means instability. “Not ambiguity, but clarity will help us to find a long-lasting solution to the current crisis and to the instability in this part of Europe,” he stated.

He reiterated that Moldova is firm in its decision to follow the path to integration into the EU. “The European integration is the vital interest of Moldova, Moldovan society and Moldovan people,” said Iurie Leanca.

The Moldovan Premier is in Germany on a two-day visit. Today, May 29, he will take part in the ceremony to award the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen, at the invitation of President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy. In the event, Iurie Leanca will deliver a speech about Van Rompuy’s role in the transformations taking place in the EU and in the community’s neighborhood.