Prime minister Viorica Dăncilă says that Romania will remain the biggest ally of the Republic of Moldova in its European integration effort. Viorica Dăncilă told reporters, after meeting with her Moldovan counterpart in Bucharest, that she assured Maia Sandu that “Romania will always act within the European consensus to increase the benefits of the EU’s external action in the Republic of Moldova.”

Viorica Dăncilă is encouraging Moldova to continue its European goals and to implement all the reforms assumed under the Association Agreement with the EU. The Romanian premier mentioned that she knows first-hand how challenging it is to implement an ambitious agenda and she is ready to share the experience. According to Dăncilă, there is no other way to ensure democracy and prosperity for Moldova than through European integration.

Romania is ready to support the unfreezing of the European Union’s financial assistance for Moldova. Viorica Dăncilă also said that today’s discussions revealed a common interest for advancing ongoing bilateral projects, specifically the energy interconnection ones. The two governments will begin to work within an intergovernmental working group to analyze which of the ongoing projects require immediate attention.

Moldova’s Prime Minister Maia Sandu said the discussions with Viorica Dăncilă included an exchange of views on how to synchronize joint actions in order to provide more substance to the development of the European strategic partnership between the Republic of Moldova and Romania. At the same time, she reiterated Chisinau’s willingness to deepen institutional collaboration in various fields and keep the practice of holding joint government meetings, which proved to be a useful instrument for coordinating issues on the bilateral agenda.

Maia Sandu reiterated the interest to see the completion of the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline project in 2020. She also commented about the importance of interconnections of high voltage power lines, the construction of a highway and bridge across the river Prut, in Ungheni. Maia Sandu also said that oldova needs Romania’s support and experience in strengthening the capacities of local and central public administration.