The war in Ukraine is a window of opportunity for the European integration of the Republic of Moldova and the chance to obtain a clear accession perspective at the upcoming European summit is very big, said representatives of civil society. According to them, Moldova should profit from the regional context so as to come closer to the European Union, especially because many EU states support the country in this approach, IPN reports.

Expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” Igor Munteanu said the Republic of Moldova cannot miss the chance to obtain the candidate country status that would protect us from Russia’s expansionist aspirations.

“The Republic of Moldova made all the efforts it was to make at this stage. I refer to the institutional efforts. The regional context also favors this approach. Treating this accession opportunity as something normal would be the biggest mistake. The war in Ukraine fully changed the security map of Europe. Not remaining in a gray area is the key reason for which we should use this accession chance. In this gray area, the Russian Federation does what it wants. The main project that Vladimir Putin wants to implement by this war in Ukraine is to rebuild the USSR and to this way destroy the European, international security and to build a bipolar system,” Igor Munteanu stated in the talk show “Shadow Cabinet” on JurnalTV channel.

For his part, expert of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE) Mihai Mogâldea said the messages of support coming from European leaders are a confirmation of the fact that we will become an accession candidate country, alongside Ukraine. The historical event will take place during the EU summit of June 23-24.

“Before February 24, we didn’t even consider submitting an application for membership, but the regional context opened a window of opportunity from which we should profit. This window of opportunity means increased attention to the region, a wish by the European states, coming from down to up, from the level of society, to offer support to Ukraine and also to the Republic of Moldova. We can expect next week’s event – the Summit of the European Council - with optimism. The accession perspective is almost clear. All the messages that came, including that of President Macron, show that the European Union is ready to recognize this accession perspective,” stated Mihai Mogâldea.

Ex-MP Iurie Reniță noted the decision to grant the candidate country status is taken inside the EU by a unanimous vote, but the European community includes states that oppose the enlargement.

“By excellence, the Republic of Moldova is a European state, but we should do our homework well. We should consistently and coherently promote the national interests. We want some of the European states to solve our problems related to the opposition of other states. I refer to Denmark, the Netherlands where the approach is very tough. The approach should be more extended towards the sincere supporters of the Republic of Moldova. We should not bank on two-three states even if they are very important. We should not forget that it goes to consensus on the decision. I would like the messages from home that are transmitted to the citizens and the foreign partners to be more balanced and not so enthusiastic,” stated Iurie Reniță.

The Republic of Moldova filed an application for EU membership on March 3, following the example of Ukraine and Georgia.