The intention of the authorities is for the Republic of Moldova to join the European Union as a unitary state, together with the Transnistrian region, said Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gerasimov. According to the official, the left side of the Nistru is already economically integrated into the European Union market and this is an advantage in the European integration process. The Cypriot model of accession exists in the history of the European Union, but for now such a scenario is not analyzed for the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.
The Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration said that the official Chisinau aims to simultaneously integrate into the EU both sides of the Nistru. The Transnistrian region fully benefits from the advantages of the Free Trade Agreement, which could boost the accession.
“Our intention is to integrate as a unitary state. As a whole. We want the entire Republic of Moldova to enter the European space once and for all. We see that the Transnistrian region is already very well integrated into the European Economic Area. If we look at the trade data for the first months of the year 2024, we see that 80% of the trade coming from the Transnistrian region goes to the European market. It is a much higher percentage than the one for the entire country. We hope that this advantage from which the Transnistrian region benefits will be an advantage in the implementation of the European legislation, in the preparations for accession,” Cristina Gerasimov stated in the talk show “Résumé with Ileana Pîrgaru” on RliveTV channel.
Earlier, President Maia Sandu announced that the accession of the Republic of Moldova could take place in two steps. Initially, the right bank of the Nistru could join the EU, and later – the Transnistrian region. The Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration said that if such a scenario is applied, it will be agreed with the officials in Brussels
“It will be a decision that will be taken in agreement with the European Union. In the history of the European Union, there is the integration of a state with a frozen conflict on its territory, the case of Cyprus. Of course, we want to integrate as a unitary state, but such a scenario will be discussed later with Brussels, if necessary. We are at the beginning of this process now. We are ready to ensure that the European Union legislation is applied all over the Republic of Moldova and we hope that the so-called authorities in Tiraspol are also interested in this process, which is a technical one at the moment,” said the official.
Previously, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, when asked if the Transnistrian region is an obstacle in the process of joining the EU, invoked the Cypriot model. The European official noted that Cyprus is an example when a state with a frozen conflict on its territory joined the European Union.
