The Republic of Moldova hopes to start negotiations to join the European Union (EU) by the end of this year, as it hastens to implement the reforms required by Brussels, said Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, March 29th.
Reforming the “extremely corrupt” justice system is a top priority, said Popescu, as half of the European Commission’s recommendations focus on this sector.
“Joining the EU for countries like Moldova and Ukraine is the best and only way to ensure that our part of Europe returns to a situation of peace,” said Minister Popescu during a visit to Berlin.
Infrastructure projects, such as the interconnector that directly links Moldova’s power grid with Romania’s, without passing through Ukraine, are also vital for the stability of the Republic of Moldova, as it would diversify and increase the security of energy supplies.
Nicu Popescu said there is international political and economic support for such projects, but the implementation procedures are too slow. The deadline for completing this electricity interconnection, partially financed by EU funds, is 2026.
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“The procedures in peacetime need to be reassessed because we are not in peacetime. Europe is affected by a large-scale war, the largest since World War II,” underlined the official from Chisinau, adding that “we urgently need the electricity interconnection with Romania.”
The Republic of Moldova is strongly affected by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, recording an inflation rate of over 20%, and Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have caused power outages on its territory, recalls Reuters.