In the days leading up to the Moldova Europeană National Assembly, HotNews.ro spoke with former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Iulian Groza, and journalist Oxana Bodnar, to gauge the European aspirations of the Republic of Moldova.
Iulian Groza affirms that Moldova is European, stating, “We speak a European language, Romanian, and our present and future are strongly anchored in European values. Since 2005, European integration has been declared an objective by the Parliament at that time, with a majority of communists.”
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“Since then, our European path has experienced various setbacks and different speeds. However, in 2014, Moldova signed the Association Agreement with the EU, and Moldovan citizens obtained visa-free travel in European space. Last year, the European Union finally recognized our European perspective, and we became a candidate country alongside Ukraine. European integration is not just a political commitment of a government or a political party; it is an objective of our country, embraced by all members of society, whether they are teachers, mayors, businesspeople, and so on. The timing chosen for the rally is extremely opportune. On June 1st, Moldova will host, for the first time, a summit of European leaders in Bulboaca village, at Castel Mimi. The summit will bring together 50 European leaders, and it is crucial for us as a country to reaffirm that Moldova is indeed a European country.”
“At the same time, the times are very complicated. We have a war at our borders. The Russian aggression in Ukraine has strongly affected the entire security architecture and all international rules, and Moldova is the most affected country after Ukraine due to this war led by Russia,” affirms Groza.
In turn, Oxana Bodnar emphasized that “Moldova now needs an idea that will unite society because society is polarized. In this context, Moldova is indeed subject to an unprecedented hybrid informational attack. This is clearly seen now in Gagauzia and in some sources that have entered Telegram channels, where there are all sorts of speculations, tensions, and so on.”
“I believe that this event would be ideal to truly unite society and send a message to external partners, partners in the European Union, that Moldova wants and can be part of the EU. However, experts fear that the event may turn into an electoral or political affair, or a pro-PAS rather than a pro-European Union event,” stated the journalist.