Ludovic Orban: Union is shortest path of integration into European Union

25.01.2023 06:50
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3 minute(s)

The ex-Premier of Romania Ludovic Orban said the Union with Romania would mean automatic integration of the Republic of Moldova into the European Union and NATO. According to the Romanian politician, the Union between the two states should take place only as a result of a referendum held on both sides of the Prut, in a favorable international context, IPN reports.

The chairman of the Party “Force of the Right” noted that Moldova’s Union with Romania is the shortest path of accession to the EU. The Union would also offer Bessarabia the advantages of the NATO security system.

“There are two integration variants – the long one and the shorter one. The Union variant is evidently shorter. For this to happen, the people should express their wish by a referendum as, according to the Constitution of Romania and of the Republic of Moldova too, such a decision needs to be validated by vote by the citizens in a referendum, both in Romania and in Bessarabia. Two important things need to take place. The people from both sides of the Prut should want the Union and an international context is needed for consensus to exist among the foreign partners,” Ludovic Orban stated in the program “Reflection Points” on Vocea Basarabiei channel.

According to the former Prime Minister of Romania, the Transnistrian dispute will not represent an impediment to the Union. Romania will become attractive to the citizens from the left side of the Nistru when these realize the benefits of European integration.

“If there is determination, especially in Romania, for this objective, it can be achieved. When Bessarabia becomes part of Romania, Romania’s status of EU member state and NATO member country will also belong to Bessarabia. The Transnistrian region forms part of the Republic of Moldova even if it is not controlled by the authorities in Chisinau and it will have an additional interest to realize that it is better in the European Union. But there is also the long road of accession. You need to fulfill conditions. It is hard to say how long this process can be. It depends on the will of the European Commission and on the reforms done in the Republic of Moldova,” said Ludovic Orban.

According to the Public Opinion Barometer of December 2022, if a referendum on the Union between the Republic of Moldova and Romania was held, 35% of those polled would vote for the Union.