Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan considers the European Union’s response to the application for EU membership signed by President Maia Sandu on Thursday should be: “Yes, you are welcome; let’s start work”. According to the MEP, the Republic of Moldova over the last year showed that it wants and can do the reforms agreed with the EU and wants the European integration. “Furthermore, these days we all saw how the Moldovan authorities and the Moldovan citizens acted in a European spirit: they opened the borders to the Ukrainian refugees who need assistance, offered them water, food, shelter. The Republic of Moldova proved that it acts based on the European values and principles,” said Siegfried Mureșan, being quoted by IPN.
“We cannot safely enter the 27 member states if we do not have safe, stable and prosperous countries in our neighborhood. We told this to the European Parliament for many times the last few years. But now the European Union started to better realize the importance of the Republic of Moldova for our safety. We must use this opportunity,” noted the MEP.
Siegfried Mureșan said the Republic of Moldova is managed by a pro-European majority because the citizens overwhelmingly voted for this in the last parliamentary and presidential elections and the accession application signed on Thursday is the expression of the wish of most of its citizens. Therefore, the EU’s response to this application should be “yes”.
The official stated that a lot of steps need to be evidently taken by Moldova and by the EU on the path of European integration. But this should not scare as the biggest impediment to Moldova’s entry into the EU so far was not this process, but the absence of a political class that would want to reform and modernize the country and the lack of the European leaders’ confidence in the political class in Chisinau. Things have changed and the President and the Government of the Republic of Moldova now enjoy the trust of European leaders.
In the accession process, while the necessary stages are covered, the Moldovan citizens will already see concrete benefits, like the advantages of the European internal market, if Moldova is allowed to integrate into this market as a preliminary stage, as Siegfried Mureșan proposed four weeks ago. This way, the Moldovan products could be exported to the EU in unlimited amounts, without any quotas, while the European products would be imported into Moldova easier and at lower prices. Also, by this accession, Moldova will meet the EU’s quality and environmental standards and the Moldovans will be free to work, study and settle anywhere in the EU much easier than at present, said the MEP.
President Maia Sandu, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița and Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu signed the Republic of Moldova’s application for EU membership in the evening of March 3. President Sandu said that some of the decisions need time, while others should be taken promptly and determinedly, taking the opportunities offered by the changing landscape of the world. “The Republic of Moldova must have a clear European path. We are ready to do our best to achieve this fundamental objective. The citizens made such a choice. They see our country’s future in the EU,” stated the official.
