Common challenges and concerns in the context of the new geopolitical reality after the unjustified military aggression of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, were some of the topics of the speech delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, delivered on August 31 at the informal meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of the European Union. The meeting took place in the Gymnich format and was hosted by the Czech minister of foreign affairs Jan Lipavský, in the context of holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Nicu Popescu stated that it is the first meeting in this format in which our country participates, as a future member state of the EU.
“The unanimous support for our country by granting candidate country status in the historic vote of the Council of the European Union on June 23, preceded by the positive opinion of the European Commission, motivated us to achieve at an accelerated pace the approval after internal consultations of the ambitious and extensive Action Plan to the 9 measures stipulated in the Commission’s opinion. In my speech I talked about our common challenges and concerns in the context of the new geopolitical reality after the unjustified military aggression of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, which has a profound impact on the region and our country. We appreciate the cooperation with the European Union through the European Peace Facility and the support offered to strengthen our country’s resilience in the field of defense and security, from which we will also benefit in the future,” said Minister Popescu.
“We are a community of countries that share the same values of democracy, freedom, the rule of law and adherence to a rules-based international order. We pointed out the recent concrete actions through which we are in solidarity with Ukraine, including by providing solidarity bands for grain and fuel, the restoration after two months of works of the Basarabeasca – Berezino railway section, the facilitation of the transport of goods between Moldova and Ukraine, the constant care of our refugee authorities. Like everyone else in Europe, our country is preparing for a difficult winter amid the ongoing war and uncertainty of energy supplies. I informed my European colleagues that the government team is working to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis and I advocated for the further deepening of energy integration,” the Foreign Minister’s post also states.
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At the same time, the head of Moldovan diplomacy assured his EU counterparts that, our country, we will continue to work to minimize the impact of the war and contribute to regional stability, at the same time accelerating the pace of the country’s transformation to get closer to the EU and bring concrete benefits to citizens.
It is worth reminding that, Nicu Popescu, leads the delegation of our country to the informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Union states that takes place between August 30 and 31 in Prague, Czech Republic, where they discuss the geopolitical challenges, the European perspectives for the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia – the countries of the associated Trio and the future of the Eastern Partnership.