The Republic of Moldova deserves the status of EU candidate country because it is a state with a functional democratic system, said Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu. He noted that Moldova earlier this week received a clear signal from the EU that it is welcomed into the big European family. Now Chisinau has one month to complete the questionnaire based on which the European Union will assess the country’s readiness to join the EU, IPN reports.
Nicu Popescu said the handing over of the accession questionnaire is a historical moment for the Republic of Moldova. By such a gesture, the European community offered a clear accession prospect to Moldova.
“It is for the first time that the EU gave the green light to the European aspirations of the Republic of Moldova and launched this process through which other states that joined the EU also went. The receiving of this questionnaire is an important moment on our European path. The final result depends on many factors, including the political factor. But at this moment it is important for our government institutions, the legislature, civil society to work together and give responses to these questions based on which the EU will decide the next steps in the integration process of the Republic of Moldova,” Nicu Popescu stated in a special edition on the public TV channel.
The minister of foreign affairs and European integration noted that the justice sector is the main drawback of the Republic of Moldova, but a part of the Questionnaire of the European Commission refers to this sector. The high democratization level of the country can make the European community take a decision favorable to Moldova.
“The state institutions have about a month to provide responses to 369 questions. Later, we will receive the second questionnaire whose goal is to assess the level of implementation of the community legislation. The first questionnaire contains questions about the functioning of the political system and more questions about the justice system. The justice system is a problem as it is dysfunctional. In other areas, I think the Republic of Moldova is rather prepared and can achieve the objective of obtaining the status of candidate country as we have a functional democratic system in the Republic of Moldova,” stated the official.
President Maia Sandu, Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu and Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița signed Moldova’s application for EU membership on March 3 this year after Georgia and Brussels submitted similar applications to Brussels. On April 11, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia received the Questionnaire of the European Commission by which the two countries’ readiness to enter the EU will be assessed. Last week, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen handed over the document to Ukraine.
