The EU: Moldova deserves the membership prospect

Stefan Fule

The EU Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Commissioner expressed conviction that the Eastern Partnership country, Moldova, deserves to be offered the perspective of membership.

Štefan Füle told at the EU-Moldova Forum in Berlin on October 22 that it was the country’s performance that mattered, not the size or the political colour of the government, citing the “unprecedented consistency and speed of reforms, some truly challenging by their cost or their long-term transformative impact on Moldova’s society”.

The Commissioner Fule said that Moldova has become EU’s committed and reliable partner and prominent member of the Eastern Partnership, stressing the high relevance of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement implementation, able to “induce the best prospect for Moldovan citizens to be assured of a future based on the European values and standards”, supporting cooperation in foreign and security policy, backing in regional issues and promoting contacts between the partner citizens in numerous fields. The conference was organized by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and Robert-Bosch-Stiftung.

Štefan Füle praised the country’s the government and the citizens for the “remarkable commitment to our joint initiatives” in the areas of “trade, visas, or political dialogue and coordination”, wishing them to be “stronger on social issues, bolder on improving the economic and investment climate, and more inclusive in the way reforms are prepared and implemented”.

The Commissioner said the EU in its turn should be coherent and deliver on its commitments when the agreed conditions have been met, “without holding up delivery”, calling on Germany, in particular, to fully support the visa liberalization process, now that Moldova has met the required criteria.

Moldova is receiving high “level of support, and certainly the highest in the European Neighbourhood”, said the Commissioner. This year, the EU’s assistance will far exceed the symbolic threshold of €100 million, reaching €152 million - €41 per capita (including the EaP Integration and Cooperation programm and macro-financial assistance disbursed last April).

“Moldova deserves continuous support to deliver on its commitments, and it is my conviction that it deserves an ambitious future”, said Stefan Füle, having in mind the perspective for a country to accede to the EU.

Referring to Article 49 of the Treaty on the European Union, Fule pronounced that any European State respecting the European values and being committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the European Union.

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