The European Union is first of all a peace project. “Today, the European countries need to unite to help Ukraine win this war and restore peace and stability on the continent by recreating the European security architecture. As a candidate country, the Republic of Moldova is determined to work hard and continue on the path of European integration,“ President Maia Sandu stated in the opening of the 10th session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly held in Chisinau. The event brought together about 100 officials of EaP countries and members of the European Parliament, IPN reports.
President Sandu noted that the brutal war waged by the Russian Federation on Ukraine threw our continent towards a geopolitical quake that hasn’t been seen since World War II. Russia’s disrespect for international order creates problems to the core of the European values. “The Ukrainians fight to drive away occupancy, to regain their freedom, to defend their land – today they also defend Moldova, defend the whole Europe. Ukraine needs our support in this existential struggle. The international community should do its best to help Ukraine to succeed. Today the war teaches us that we must cooperate to guarantee democracy,” said the official.
“We want to be part of the European Union. We want to be part of the free world. We want to survive as a democracy, to live in peace. We share the same essential values – resect for the human rights, freedoms, democracy and the rule of law, solidarity and mutual support. Our joint commitment is to defend and maintain peace. These are the European values we share.”
“We are determined to make every effort to do our homework well, especially in justice, the fight against corruption and organized crime. We will ensure good conditions for the development of the business environment in regions and at the local level so as to give the communities the chance to improve wellbeing and to thrive. We want the Republic of Moldova to develop and want this to happen fast. The development of Moldova’s villages and towns remains a priority,” stated Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu.
In a video message, the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola said that there are multiple hybrid threats and foreign interferences. “Russia’s war on Ukraine has caused immense human suffering, death and destruction. It has shaken our security architecture, peaked inflation, surged our energy prices and added more instability to what was already a difficult post-pandemic economic situation. It is imperative that we aim to align our response[…] This Assembly remains uniquely suited to be a form for that discussion,” stated Roberta Metsola.
The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly was established on 3 May 2011 in Brussels, when the Presidents (or their representatives) of the Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Moldovan, Ukrainian and European Parliaments signed the Assembly’s Constitutive Act. The mission of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly is to promote the conditions necessary to accelerate political association and further economic integration between the EU and the Eastern European Partners, as well as to strengthen cooperation within the region and between the region and the EU. Moldova’s Parliament hosts a session of the Assembly for the first time.
