Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov said on Wednesday, following a cabinet meeting, that all 27 European Union member states support the opening of accession negotiations with the Republic of Moldova. She noted that, at later stages of the process, Moldova’s negotiations will naturally be decoupled from those of Ukraine, as each candidate country has its own reform priorities.
“For the Republic of Moldova, there is consensus from all 27 member states. Hungary also supports the opening of negotiations with the Republic of Moldova,” Gherasimov stated.
According to the deputy prime minister, Moldova’s current position at the same political stage of the accession process as Ukraine explains why a political decision has not yet been taken at EU level.
“Given that the Republic of Moldova is, for the moment, at the same negotiation stage as Ukraine, and there is no political decision regarding our colleagues in Ukraine, the process for the Republic of Moldova, at the political level, remains where it is today,” Gherasimov explained.
She added that once negotiations move to the technical level, each candidate country will be assessed and treated individually, leading to separate negotiation trajectories.
“When technical negotiations begin, each candidate state receives its own set of priorities for each chapter, based on the assessment of European and national legislation — the so-called bilateral screening, which the Republic of Moldova has recently completed. These priorities differ from one candidate to another. Therefore, at the next stages of negotiations, this decoupling will occur naturally, as each country follows its own reform agenda,” the official said.
The Republic of Moldova has already launched technical discussions on the first chapters of the EU accession negotiations, including Fundamental Values, the Internal Market, and External Relations.