Romania is the main supporter of the European integration of the Republic of Moldova and the frequency of political contacts must remain high, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Policy Titus Corlatean said on Wednesday at the joint meeting of the two specialist committees from the Parliaments of Bucharest and Chisinau.
‘Romania, as the main supporter, will continue to stand by you. The road is not simple. There are moments ahead and this is mainly why we are together today. The frequency of political contacts must remain high. This is a moment when a possible decision could be taken to open accession negotiations with the EU. Things are not at all simple in the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine and the way in which member states perceive different issues and are supportive or inclined to block. The problem does not lie with the Republic of Moldova, that is not where the issue is, but in the relationship between at least one member state of the European Union and Ukraine. In a way the Republic of Moldova risks remaining a prisoner and that is not fair because in the European process what matters are individual merits and how each candidate state performs and adopts reforms,’ Corlatean said at the joint meeting of the Foreign Policy Committees of the Parliaments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
He stressed that the European Commission’s assessments for each candidate state show that the Republic of Moldova is at the top.
‘So there are substantial arguments that justify the concrete start of negotiations by the end of this year through a decision, but an innovative way must be found to move past this apparent deadlock. This is why the political signal we are called to send today on behalf of the Senate, the decision making chamber in the Romanian Parliament on foreign policy, is important and one we intend to disseminate to our European partners. We will include these points in a joint declaration and express very clear political support,’ Titus Corlatean added.
The chair of the Committee on Foreign Policy and European Integration of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Doina Gherman, underlined that last week, when the report on the 2025 enlargement package for the Republic of Moldova was presented, it was noted that the progress expected over 30 months had been achieved in 12.
‘We have recorded very good progress and our society has shown through parliamentary elections that it wants integration. We already have enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, as a national strategic objective, the European path, European integration. This happened in the 2024 referendum when citizens clearly said that the place of the Republic of Moldova is in the big European family. Now there is this window of opportunity. We have a favourable situation in the context of a very good relationship with Brussels, strong support from the European Parliament and very good cooperation with the European Commission. The political decision now lies with the European Council,’ Doina Gherman explained.
At the end of the meeting the joint declaration of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Romanian Senate and the Foreign Policy Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova was adopted, signed by the chairs of the two bodies. AGERPRES
