Josette Durrieu: 2009 elections will be a test for Moldova’s commitment to European values

The Republic of Moldova will have to prove in the 2009 elections its commitment to democratic principles. The way the legislative elections will be held next year will be an opportunity for testing Moldova’s European option, Josette Durrieu, chairwoman of the French Senate’s Friendship Group with Moldova, told Speaker Marian Lupu at a meeting in France. According to a press release of the Parliament’s mass media division, Josette Durrieu stated that the conclusion of Moldova’s monitoring by the European Council is only a matter of time. At the same time, she urged Moldova to put into practice consistent actions, reforms aimed at internal changes and at taking over European standards in the social, economic, political fields, and other. The president of the French Senate, Christian Poncelet, confirmed France’s support to Moldova’s European aspiration. France is not indifferent to Moldova and its citizens, the French official said. Marian Lupu sought Moldova’s entry into the France’s priority list in the context of France’s taking over the EU Presidency in the second half of 2008. The Moldovan official pleaded for starting negotiations for a new Moldova-EU legal framework, a document that will include clear European prospects for Moldova. Offering clear European prospects will represent the most important message of support on the part of European partners for Moldova’s European integration and democratic reforms, Speaker Marian Lupu told the French high officials. Marian Lupu also spoke about the developments of the Transnistrian conflict settlement and reiterated Moldova’s position in finding a final solution to the conflict exclusively on the basis of the 5+2 format.