Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu is not sure that negotiations on Moldova’s accession to the European Union will start this autumn. At the same time, he said that he was “more optimistic than a few months ago” because “good signals were received from the EU.”
“The momentum is good, the signals we are getting are good, and I am more optimistic than a few months ago and even more optimistic than a few days ago, seeing the assessments that I have received both privately and publicly from the leaders of Europe regarding the need to speed up our accession to the European Union and the progress we are making,” Popescu said.
The official notes that things in Moldova do not stand still. Reforms are slowly moving forward. But Popescu is not sure if this is enough to start negotiations on our country’s accession to the EU this autumn.
“Of the nine recommendations of the European Commission, most focus on justice and administrative capacity. We have already demonstrated by the example of justice that things have moved on. The airport returned to state administration, and Shor was convicted … Will we have time before the autumn? There is no clear certainty, especially when it comes to a decision that depends on 27 member states each has its electoral cycles and its experts, but… optimism comes from the fact that things do not stand still. Our interlocutors note and appreciate this”, Nicu Popescu said.
The Republic of Moldova received the status of an EU candidate country, along with Ukraine, in June 2022. This happened after the meeting of the Council of Europe took place in Brussels.
President Maia Sandu announced on 3 March 2022 that the Republic of Moldova is applying to join the European Union. The document was signed before the press by the Head of State, Speaker of the Parliament Igor Grosu, and the then Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa.