The Republic of Moldova is a European country and it must be accepted into the European family, the Head of the Swedish Parliament Per Westerberg told the Moldovan parliamentary delegation at a meeting. The Moldovan delegation headed by Speaker Marian Lupu is on an official visit to the Swedish capital, Stockholm, between December 4 and 6. According to the Moldovan Parliament’s press service, Per Westerberg said that the Swedish authorities are in favour of strengthening and extending the cooperation with the Republic of Moldova at different levels. He expressed his confidence that the signing of the Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between the Parliaments of Moldova, Latvia and Sweden regarding the strengthening of Moldovan Parliament’s capacities in the area of European integration and the adjustment of the Moldovan legislation to the communitarian acquis will contribute to the development of the bilateral and multilateral cooperation. At the meeting of Marian Lupu with King Carl XVI Gustaf, the monarch said that Sweden supports Moldova in its efforts to join the EU and to implement democratic reforms. He expressed Swedish authorities’ readiness to continue backing Moldova on the path to European integration. Carl XVI Gustaf also said that Sweden is willing to strengthen the economic relations with Moldova, the Parliament’s press service informs. Marian Lupu also met with the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Swedish Foreign Ministry Frank Belfrage. The Swedish official applauded the Moldovan authorities for the latest efforts made to solve the Transnistrian dispute, emphasizing that these efforts are welcomed by the European community. He also said that the Swedish authorities consider that the Transnistria conflict settlements talks in the 5+2 format should be optimised. The Head of the Moldovan Parliament had a meeting with the Lord Mayor of Stockholm Bo Bladholm, where they discussed opportunities of cooperating in developing the infrastructure of the capitals of the two states. The Lord Mayor said that the authorities of Stockholm city are ready to cooperate with the authorities of Chisinau municipality in a number of areas, including by sharing their experience as part of possible joint projects.