“The Council of Europe is an irreplaceable actor and standard-setter for democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights”, declared foreign minister Mihai Popșoi during the 133rd session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, as quoted by a press release from the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In his speech, Minister Popșoi noted the effective cooperation between the Republic of Moldova with the Council of Europe and the support offered through various CoE bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights and the Venice Commission.

“We also talked about the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, which is the priority of our country. We count on the support of EU member states for our country to successfully complete the negotiation process. I also expressed my opinion about the challenges facing the Republic of Moldova and the situation in the Transnistrian region”, the deputy prime minister added.

Mihai Popșoi noted that Moldova is determined to counter any external attempts to disrupt and destabilize democracy and undermine the resilience of society through various hybrid actions.

“We are aware that the upcoming presidential elections, the constitutional referendum, as well as the parliamentary elections next year will be targeted. Therefore, we make constant efforts to combat Russian propaganda aimed at sowing discord and undermining trust”, declared Mihai Popșoi.

At the end of the session, the Committee adopted the draft Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, and the rotating presidency of the CoE Council of Ministers was transferred from Liechtenstein to Lithuania.

The meeting took place in Strasbourg and brought together the ministers and ambassadors of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe and observer states.