The Republic of Moldova should join the European Union as an indivisible, integral state, together with the Transnistrian region, said former minister of foreign affairs and European integration Tudor Ulianovschi. According to him, speaking about the accession to the EU without the Transnistrian region is incorrect and unconstructive from legal viewpoint. The geopolitical context is favorable to the enlargement of the European Union and the Moldovan authorities should do their best to take this opportunity, IPN reports.
Ex-minister Tudor Ulianovschi said that it is legally not right for the Moldova authorities to seek to integrate the country into the EU initially without the Transnistrian region.
“At the UN, I proved that the Transnistrian region is part of the Republic of Moldova. The Republic of Moldova from constitutional viewpoint is an integral, indivisible state. Therefore, if we join the European Union, I consider this should happen together with this region that now enjoys a lot of economic benefits and not only. I think a constructive and legally correct discussion by considering the integration without this region is not possible,” Tudor Ulianovschi stated in the program “Reflection Points” on Vocea Basarabiei channel.
According to the ex-minister, the Moldovan authorities should be perseverant and work hard to show to the EU that the country can do reforms and negotiate the 35 accession chapters.
“The geopolitical context is favorable to the further enlargement of the European Union not only to the Western Balkans, but also to the Eastern Europe. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which I firmly condemn, was that political impulse to tend to achieve this desideratum. In Brussels, I refer to the European institutions, there is this openness and we should see such openness also at bilateral level. At the December meeting of the European Council, I hope a favorable decision for the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia will be taken. The second report by the European Commission will follow and this will be published next March,” said Tudor Ulianovschi.
He noted that the war in Ukraine and the crises generated by this predisposes an increased number of citizens from EU member states to Euroskepticism and this factor should be taken into account by the Moldova authorities.
“We must take into consideration also the elections for the European Parliament set for June 6-9, 2024. Also, parliamentary and/or presidential elections will take place in eight European states. The crisis that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the energy crisis, the economic crisis generated a higher level of Euroskepticism or nationalism, moderate for now, in the European Union,” stated Tudor Ulianovschi.
On November 8, the European Commission recommended opening accession negotiations with Moldova. A final decision is to be taken at the European Council’s meeting of December 14-15. A unanimous vote of all the EU member states is needed for a decision favorable to Moldova.
