The European Council welcomed the progress made by Moldova and Ukraine in advancing the necessary reforms on the path of accession to the European Union, reads a document on the conclusions of the meeting held on March 21. Thus, the European Council invited the EU member states to swiftly adopt the draft negotiating framework for Moldova and Ukraine and advance the approaches without delay, IPN reports, with reference to the Bureau for European Integration.

The conclusions also say that the EU will continue to provide all relevant support for Moldova to address the challenges stemming from Russia’s war against Ukraine, and to strengthen Moldova’s resilience, security and stability.

In this context, EU leaders welcomed member states’ bilateral commitments to support the EU partnership mission in Moldova to enhance the resilience of the security sector. 

In December 2023, the European Council decided to open negotiations on Moldova’s accession to the EU. On March 13, the European Commission submitted the draft negotiating framework with Moldova to the European Council for consideration.