Moldovan President has encouraged the CEI prime ministers to support European integration of member states

The relationships of Moldova with the European Union have gradually developed, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin stated on Friday, November 28, at the opening of the Summit of Heads of Governments from the Central European Initiative’s states (CEI). The Moldovan President saluted the objective of this regional arrangement in supporting the CEI member states in the European integration process, Info- Prim Neo reports. “I consider it necessary to permanently keep in CEI’s attention the subject of relations among the EU presidencies. I want to believe this project of European integration of the CEI countries will be a successful one,” Vladimir Voronin said. Moldovan Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii emphasized that the priority of the Moldovan Presidency to CEI was the development of the regional cooperation, through projects of common interest and through strengthening the CEI institutional dialogue with the European Union. “The financial support that the EU wants to give CEI consists of projects of development and exchange of good experience among the EU member and non-member states,” Zinaida Greceanii has stated. She also said that EU and other partners’ financing must not substitute the contribution that CEI is to allot in the Cooperation Fund for the regional or sector projects of common interest. “Moldova appreciates very much the will of the CEI member states to increase the budget of the cooperation fund in 2009 by 20% and it considers absolutely necessary to continue the process of its annual increase. The fund has become an efficient instrument of carrнing out regional projects. Only this year, over 100 projects have been achieved,” Zinaida Greceanii added. The summit’s agenda includes three issues: exchanging opinions on “Strengthening for a European future,” approving the report regarding the results of the Moldovan presidency of the CEI and endorsing the final document of the reunion. The summit is attended, besides the prime and foreign ministers from the CEI member states, by the representatives of many international bodies, representatives of the diplomatic and economic missions accredited to Chisinau.