The seventh meeting of the Moldova-EU Association Committee took place from November 16-17 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. The event was co-chaired by State Secretary Stela Leucă and Luc Devigne, Director for Russia, the Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, and the OSCE within the European External Action Service.
According to a statement, in addition to the Moldova-EU cooperation outlined in the Association Agreement, the discussions also covered the conclusions of the European Commission’s Report on EU Enlargement 2023, the prospects for starting accession negotiations, and the regional context in light of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Over 30 national authorities participated in the meeting.
On the first day of the Association Committee, emphasis was placed on Moldova-EU political dialogue, human rights, foreign and security policy, justice, corruption, freedom and security, and the electoral framework. National authorities highlighted achievements and outlined the challenges they face.
On the second day, the discussions of the meeting focused on economic and sectoral cooperation. In terms of economic cooperation, the macroeconomic situation and progress made by Moldova in economic and financial sector reforms were analyzed. The EU’s assistance in ensuring economic resilience, including the support of the Moldova Support Platform and the EU Economic Investment Plan in the Eastern Partnership region, was reviewed.
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In terms of sectoral cooperation, the emphasis was on policies implemented in the areas of energy, transportation, environment and climate policies, labor force occupation, social policies and statistics, agriculture and rural development, digital economy, public health, culture, and education.
At the end of the event, EU officials acknowledged Moldova’s considerable efforts in achieving the objectives underlying its candidate country status and encouraged the country to continue with the reform agenda and the fulfillment of recommendations specified in the European Commission’s Opinion on the accession request and the Enlargement Report, in order to progress toward future EU membership.