Romania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Luminita Odobescu said that the period following the decision to open accession negotiations will be extremely complex for the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The accession process itself puts additional pressure on the administrative bodies of the two states. There is a need, on the one hand, for a strong commitment, both in Kiev and in Chisinau, but also at the European level. On the other hand, political and practical support from the member states of the European Union is also needed. Romania remains, as before, committed to providing its full support for the European integration of the two states. The statements were made at a press conference held in Bucharest, together with the Deputy Prime Ministers of Moldova and Ukraine Cristina Gerasimov and Olga Stefanishyna, IPN reports.
Luminita Odobescu participated, together with Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gerasimov and Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna, in the thematic session “The role of the EU integration in building a resilient Europe”, held on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy (RADR 2024).
In her speech, Luminita Odobescu noted the remarkable progress made by the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in fulfilling the European agenda and stressed the need for the authorities in Chisinau and Kiev to continue, with the same determination and consistency, the efforts to implement the reforms necessary for European integration. She highlighted Romania’s active and continuous support at political, diplomatic and practical levels for the advancement of the European integration process of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine and assured that this will manifest itself with the same firmness in the future.
During the trilateral debate, the three high-ranking officials conferred on the state of trilateral cooperation, security developments in the region and the progress made by the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in the European integration process. As for the last aspect, special attention was paid to the steps that the two states must take in the immediate period within this process and to the concrete support that both states need.
As regards the projects carried out at bilateral or trilateral level, Minister Luminita Odobescu stressed that many of them, such as those of interconnection in the energy or transport sectors, are designed and promoted including from the perspective of the integration of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine into the European Single Market.
Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of the Republic of Moldova Cristina Gerasimov approved of the close bilateral cooperation and thanked for the constant support offered by Romania at the European level. She underlined the importance of political and working dialogue to boost the exchange of experience between Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Olga Stefanishyna highlighted the importance of the multidimensional support offered by Romania to Ukraine, both in terms of European integration and of security in the context of the Russian Federation’s aggression. She expressed the desire to continue cooperation with Romania and the Republic of Moldova both in implementing sectoral projects and in continuing the European integration process.
