The ministers of foreign affairs of the Eastern Partnership member states on July 10 took part in the ninth meeting of the EaP informal ministerial dialogue. The preparations for the Eastern Partnership summit that will take place in Brussels this November were the main subject for discussion, IPN reports.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova Andrei Galbur told a news conference that the discussions were very useful and, besides the preparations for the summit, covered also the proposals to adjust the institutional model of work at multilateral dimensions within the EaP.

“For the Republic of Moldova, today’s meeting was an occasion for stating its views on the decisive elements of the statement of the Brussels Summit, which refer to the consolidation of the political dimension of the initiative, and for consenting the evolution of its European integration objective. There were also reiterated the main directions in the development of the sector segment of the Eastern Partnership until 2020. The Republic of Moldova will continue to show the same pro-active attitude as regards the utilization of all the opportunities provided by the Eastern Partnership so as to first of all facilitate the implementation of the Association Agreement,” stated the minister.

Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said the discussions were constructive as regards the partnership, expectations, commitments as well as the methods of making this partnership more visible and tangible.

Johannes Hahn noted the commitments to reform are crucial, while the concrete results achieved within the EaP will offer benefits to the people. “We want the business entities and the citizens to benefit from the new commercial opportunities offered by the DCFTA and from the new commitments of Armenia and Azerbaijan. We think that over 10,000 SMEs can have access to additional financing, including in national currency,” stated the Commissioner.

Asked about Moldova’s chances to obtain the status of candidate for EU membership, Johannes Hahn said it is the sovereign right of a country to submit such an application. But it is more important to lay emphasis on the necessary reforms and, in this regard, the Government works to implement the roadmap. Attention should be devoted to particular areas before taking the next step.

The event also includes a meeting of ministers in charge of the energy sector from the six EaP member states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine), which is hosted by the Ministry of Economy.