The second annual Forum of Debates on the European Integration of Moldova, staged by the Foreign Police Association (APE) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, took place in Chisinau. The participants in the event said that Moldova must make progress on the path to the EU as the European integration is the only way towards modernization and development. To achieve this objective, Moldova must strictly fulfill all the conditions stipulated in the Association Agreement with the EU, IPN reports.
In the opening of the event, APE executive director Victor Chirila said that society in Moldova is often tempted to blame the past for the failures and always says that there is no future without past, neglecting the present. “I think that history offers us, those we live at present, the chance of changing the destiny. We now have this chance called the European integration, the relations with the EU and the Association Agreement. I believe we have the moral obligation to profit from this chance and to fully take it,” he stated, underlining that this can be done if society and the political class show unity and if there is solidarity and the EU partners support us.
Representative of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Matthias Jobelius said the topics debated in the forum are of major importance as they discuss the first results achieved as a result of Moldova’s association with the EU and the challenges faced on the path to European integration: corruption fighting and the steps that need to be taken to reform the justice sector.
Attending the event, Head of Parliament Igor Corman spoke about the most important accomplishments on the path to European integration, namely the liberalization of the visa regime and the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU. According to him, Moldova will have to deal with a series of challenges in the future and the European integration must become a national project supported by the political forces and the people.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Natalia Gherman said the Association Agreement is the most efficient strategy for achieving the objective of building democratic, prosperous and modern society. Moldova has no alternative on this path. The road will be hard, with a lot of skepticism, but this is the path that Moldova must cover.
Member of the German Bundestag Fritz Felgentreu said the implementation of the Association Agreement must result in the fulfillment of all the needs of the people. If society does not feel improvements, it will be hard to convince the people that the EU is Moldova’s future.
Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Pirkka Tapiola said that real work must start now and there is yet a lot to be done. “We must transmit real messages about the enormous work that needs to be done,” he stated.
The Forum of Debates on the European Integration of Moldova aims to become a platform for discussions on the most critical challenges that Chisinau will have to cope with on the path to European integration so as to implement the Association Agreement with the EU as efficiently as possible.
