Eight EU countries advocate for visa liberalization for Moldova

Romania will present a letter in support of advancing Moldova to the next stage in the negotiations on visa liberalization. The document will be read at the meeting of the European Ministers of Foreign Affairs on Monday, October 15, in Luxembourg. The initiative comes from Romania and was also signed by the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Romanian news portal ziare.com, the document will be presented by Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Titus Corlatean. The letter reads that in 2012 Moldova strengthened its position as a leader in the Eastern Partnership and the Moldovan government achieved significant progress towards meeting its European aspirations. The letter also notes Moldova' s progress in the negotiations on the Association Agreement with the EU and the Free Trade Agreement, and remarks Chisinau' s determination to implement the reforms included in its Visa Liberalization Action Plan. Moldova' s progress was acknowledged in the latest EU Report on the Neighborhood Policy, by the Moldova-EU Cooperation Council and by the most recent ministerial meeting of the Eastern Partnership in July, reads the document. According to the letter, the authorities in Chisinau made important and difficult decisions regarding legislative changes, some of them unprecedented in the region. As a result, the European ministers of foreign affairs think it is necessary for the EU to give a clear signal and to start the second stage for the evaluation of recommendations included in the Visa Liberalization Action Plan. The European officials consider that the recognition of Moldova's incontestable progress will provide a boost for the continuation of reforms and will set an example for the other countries in the Eastern Partnership.