Vlad Plahotniuc: Moldova must be ready to join the EU in a year

“Moldova must be ready to apply for EU membership in a year”, declared First Deputy Speaker Vlad Plahotniuc during the visit of the Moldovan parliamentary delegation in the Baltic countries, Info-Prim Neo learned from a press release of the Parliament. According to the press release, in the opening of the meeting, the delegation headed by Vlad Plahotniuc talked about the parliamentary and diplomatic support provided by Estonia to Moldova in the regard of European integration. The Moldovan First Deputy Speaker said that Moldova was regarded as a success story of the Eastern Partnership. “In a year, when the Eastern Partnership Summit takes place in Vilnius, I think Moldova must be ready to apply for EU membership”, he said. The Moldovan parliamentarians' first meetings were with the chairman of the Estonian parliamentary commission for foreign policy Marko Mihkelson, and with the heads of three institutions important for the support offered to Moldova: the Diplomatic School, the Center for the Eastern Partnership and the e-Government Academy. “Before Estonia joined the EU, we intensified diplomatic and political contacts in order to ensure support from abroad. It's good that you are using the same practice. My advice is for the reforms you promote to be more than just political, to bring benefits for the people. Basically, the most important aspect of European integration is development: social and economic”, recommended Marko Mihkelson, head of the Estonian parliamentary commission for foreign policy. In turn, Vlad Plahotniuc appreciated that Estonia was one of the examples to be followed. “We have a similar past. The talks we had so far assured us of Estonia's full support on our path towards joining the EU”, he said. Vahur Made, executive director of the Center for Eastern Partnership, said that “Moldova is no longer a country that only receives assistance, but one that can also share its own experience”. In a similar context, Ekke Nomm, director of the Diplomatic School of Estonia, said that Moldovan students had been studying in Estonia since 2005. The e-Government Academy, represented at the meeting by executive director Arvo Ott, provided assistance to the Moldovan e-Government Center. The Moldovan parliamentary delegation, which also includes MPs Igor Corman, Ion Butmalai, Andrian Candu and Valeriu Munteanu, has scheduled meetings with other heads of parliamentary commissions and the Estonian Speaker Laine Randjärv. The Moldovan delegation's visit in Moldova takes place on October 29 and 30.