France will promote Moldova’s interests within the European institutions and will help it come closer to the European community while it will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year, the State Secretary in charge of European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet told the Moldovan Speaker Marian Lupu at a meeting in Paris on January 31, the Moldovan Parliament’s press service informs, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. According to the cited source, Jean-Pierre Jouyet stressed that France will plead for extending the European neighbourhood policy and for a stronger partnership between Moldova and the European Union. The two officials underlined the importance of initiating debates on a new legal framework between Moldova and the EU after the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement expires this summer. Marian Lupu said that Moldova counts on a safe European prospect that will help Moldova move closer to the European freedoms, the communiqué says. The two officials discussed the possibilities of solving the Transnistrian dispute and stressed the importance of holding transparent talks, both at bilateral level and in the 5 + 2 format. On January 31, the Moldovan Head of Parliament had a meeting with the MEPs Marian-Jean Marinescu and Maria Petre, members of the Moldova-EU Interparliamentary Cooperation Committee. The officials pointed to the constructive dialogue that exists between the Moldovan Parliament and the European Parliament and pleaded for strengthening the ties between the two institutions so that Moldova makes progress on the path to European integration. The interlocutors also said that the MEPs should pay visits to Moldova in order to ensure a permanent connection between the Moldovan Parliament and the European legislature. In the end, the officials stressed the importance of developing good neighborhood and cooperation relations between Moldova and Romania. Marian Lupu visited France between January 29 and 31 on the invitation of the President of the French Senate Christian Poncelet.