Moldova may become a member of the European Union in 2019, when the Presidency of the Council of the European Union will be held by Romania, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said in the program “Fabrika” on the channel “Publika TV”.

The Premier said that at the Riga Summit of 2015 Moldova is expected to obtain the status of EU candidate.

As to the signature of the Association Agreement, Iurie Leanca said the event will most probably take place in July, not earlier, as the economy is not prepared. According to him, effort is already made to adjust the Moldovan products to the requirements of the European market and from autumn it will be possible to export food products to the EU.

The Prime Minister admitted that the relations between Chisinau and Moscow are tense as the confidence on which the system was built was shaken. He voiced hope that the ice will be broken by dialogue and communication. “The European integration does not mean that we want worse relations with Russia. On the contrary, Moldova wants an as serious dialogue as possible with Russia,” he stated.

Iurie Leanca expects the situation to improve after the visit by Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman to Moscow and the visit by Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to Chisinau.

The permanent invitee to the program “Fabrika”, commentator Cristian Tabara said the Premier’s forecasts concerning the joining of the European Union are rather optimistic if considering the pace of the visa regime abolition and of the signing of the Association Agreement.