Moldova enjoys more credibility among international partners than ever before and this allows the authorities in Chisinau - the government, the parliamentary majority, the president - to obtain concrete support at European level for Moldovan citizens. This was stated by MEP Siegfried Mureșan, chair of the European Parliament Delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee, during a press conference in Chisinau.

Siegfried Mureșan noted that the European Parliament approved 150 million euros in macro-financial assistance for Moldova and the first installment will soon reach Chisinau. At the same time, the European Commission has proposed an additional budget support of 53 million euros.

According to the MEP, the European Parliament’s resolution in support of Moldova is the most ambitious document, where the main concern is to increase people’s quality of life. “In that document we explicitly call on the European institutions to grant EU candidate status to Moldova”, said Siegfried Mureșan.

“As the moment of accession will get closer, Moldova’s economic integration into the European single market will increase. The European model of life is one based on inclusion, tolerance, respect for every citizen. We want this for the Republic of Moldova as well”, the MEP underlined.

Mihai Popșoi, Deputy Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, said that the status of EU candidate country “might not solve all of Moldova’s problems, but will create a favorable environment for economic development, justice, for improving the lives of citizens here at home”.

Popșoi also stressed that “the war in Ukraine, a barbaric aggression against a sovereign state, has exposed all of Moldova’s vulnerabilities. But thanks to our European friends, our country now has a unique chance to take the decisive step closer to the EU, and for the process of European integration to become irreversible”.

Popșoi and Mureșan are co-presidents of the Moldova-EU Association Committee.