The European Political Community Summit held in Moldova on June 1 was a clear signal of support for our country on the path of European integration, the chairman of the European Social Democratic Party of Moldova (PSDE) Ion Sula stated in a public debate hosted by IPN.

Ion Sula noted that the leaders of the European states at the EPC Summit transmitted a very powerful message of unity and this was somehow addressed primarily to Russia – that the community is united against its aggression against Ukraine. Also, the message “Moldova is not alone” is a powerful signal of solidarity with Moldova, which is the target of hybrid warfare.

“Surely, there is support. Besides the openness we see on the part of the EU, we have a lot of work to do internally, at home. The history of many states shows that when the candidate countries do not meet particular standards, it is very hard to become part of this large family. Together with the obtaining of the EU candidate status, we are at a moment at which the doors were opened to us and we must work hard to take this opportunity,” said the chairman of the PSDE.

He noted that the hosting of the EPC Summit does not spare Moldova of the necessity of fulfilling the nine conditions imposed by the EU for moving to a new stage of the process of accession. The current government should involve the whole civil society, parties, the academia in the process so that these conditions can be met. Also, the national legislation needs to be harmonized with the Community acquis.

Ion Sula said that Moldova’s accession to the EU depends on a number of factors, including security. In the summit, it was noted that Moldova can become part of the big European family, but many things depend on the situation in Ukraine and President Zelensky mentioned also the Transnistrian dispute.

According to the politician, the government should do its best for the people of Moldova to feel that we at least think as they do in Europe. Everyone should be ready to lend a hand to the process of joining the EU as there are forces in Moldova that use particular instruments to make the country deviate from this path. Any EU member state wants peace on its borders.

The public debate entitled “EPC Summit – opportunities opened for acceleration of negotiations with the EU” was staged within the framework of IPN’s project “Support for European Integration by stimulating discussion in the mass media about the European Political Community (EPC) Summit” that is supported by Soros Foundation Moldova.