“In the Republic of Moldova, the President, the parliamentary majority, the government are making coordinated efforts to ensure the European modernization of our country,” Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, stated in the meetings he had in Brussles with high-ranking officials of the EU and NATO, which centered on the cooperation priorities and regional security.

“With the EU’s assistance, we want to build roads, schools, hospitals, to strengthen the business climate, to attract investments, to create new jobs, to eradicate poverty, to raise citizens’ living standards and to build resilience. These actions correspond to the long-term political objectives of the EU,” Nicu Popescu posted on his Telegram page after meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană, with MEPs and representatives of European institutions, IPN reports.

Another objective of the Moldovan official’s agenda was to strengthen parliamentary diplomacy. In this regard, Nicu Popescu had meetings with David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, and other MEPs. “Given the crisis situation on the European continent, in the discussions with the Western partners, I presented our country’s position on topical subjects from the European agenda,” posted Nicu Popescu.

He also noted that in the meeting with Secretary General of the European External Action Service Stefano Sannino and NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană, the interlocutors conferred on the European security situation, pleading for obeying the principles on which the European security architecture is based. They disused the strengthening of political cooperation, Moldova’s participation in the EU crisis management mission, fighting of hybrid threats and cybersecurity

Katarína Mathernová, Deputy Director-General for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, inquired about the developments in Moldova. “We took stock of the progress made in doing reforms in different sectors and discussed the implementation of the Economic Recovery Plan for Moldova and the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Eastern Partnership,” wrote Nicu Popescu.