At the First Intergovernmental Conference to start the negotiations between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova, the EU member states will present the negotiating framework for the coming years. In this framework, the basic principles, the substance of the negotiations, but also the procedures that are to be adopted meanwhile are included. The conference starts at 18:00 and will be opened by Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of Belgium Hadja Lahbib, who will also present the negotiating framework together with European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi. Then Prime Minister Dorin Recean will present the position of the Republic of Moldova in the upcoming negotiations. Details in this regard were provided by Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gerasimov at a news conference held in Luxembourg, IPN reports.
“We are going to accept this negotiating framework offered by the member states. Further, the member states have the possibility to formulate particular positions or make statements regarding the negotiation process with the Republic of Moldova. At the end, there will be a closing segment, during which Minister Lahbib, Commissioner Várhelyi and Premier Dorin Recean will give speeches. After the end of this meeting, half of which will be broadcast online, a press conference will be given by representatives of the European Union and Prime Minister Dorin Recean,” stated Cristina Gerasimov.
According to her, the Republic of Moldova is close to a historic moment, and the intergovernmental conference is the materialization of the European Council’s decision of December 2023. “We can all be proud that in just two years, a very short period, we managed to advance so much in our European path – from the status of candidate country to the official opening of negotiations. Just for comparison, it took Albania 8 years to cover this period between the granting of the candidate status and the official launch of negotiations. From this perspective, we can be proud that we managed to reach this moment so quickly today, June 25,” said Cristina Gerasimov.
The Republic of Moldova managed to fulfil the nine recommendations put forward by the European Commission. But this does not mean that the reforms are over. Efforts will be further made to ensure the independence, objectivity and transparency of justice and not only.
“Becoming a full-fledged member state of the European Union is the basic objective of the negotiations, which means that we assume both the benefits and the obligations that derive from this status. At the same time, the goal is for the negotiations to bring mutually beneficial results to our citizens, but also to the European Union. The pace of the negotiations depends largely on us, and cluster 1, the one related to the fundamental values, will be of particular importance. We have already told that we are starting and closing negotiations with cluster 1, namely with the reforms related to the justice sector. But not only that. Security, public procurement and financial control are added here,” stated the official.
The Intergovernmental Conference to start the negotiations between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova will start at 18.00 Luxembourg time (19.00 Moldova time). Speeches will be given by Belgian Minister Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi and Prime Minister Dorin Recean. The post-meeting press conference is scheduled for 20:00 Luxembourg time (21:00 Moldova time).
