Presidency of the Republic of Moldova
Dear President Roberta Metsola,
Thank you very much for the invitation to address the European Parliament’s plenary and for the warm welcome.
In my message to the European Parliament this afternoon, I mentioned the challenges the Republic of Moldova is currently facing in the security context created by the start of Russia's war against Ukraine. I underlined our commitment to transform the country despite these challenges and I presented our arguments for granting the Republic of Moldova the candidate status for accession to the European Union.
Moldova is a European country with a European history - and will undoubtedly have a European future. We speak one of the official languages of the European Union and our citizens have more than once demonstrated their attachment to the values of freedom and democracy when they opposed the anti-democratic abuses in our country.
We have embarked on a comprehensive reform process aiming to strengthen the state institutions, to develop and consolidate the economy, to reform the judiciary and improve the capacity of institutions fighting corruption. We want to build in Moldova a country for the people, where citizens can see their future. In this process, the European Union is the main economic and development partner of the Republic of Moldova.
The war in Ukraine has brought instability and uncertainty to the region - but also a chance to rebuild the balance of power on the continent based on new, fairer rules. The new reality has shown us that we must act decisively if we want to anchor Moldova in a community that can offer stability and development.
For us, the European Union is, first of all, a peace project. Therefore, we signed the EU membership application on 3 March. EU accession is the only strategic option that offers the Republic of Moldova the chance to remain part of the free world.
We are not naive - we understand that Moldova's integration in the EU will be a long and complex process, which will require a lot of work and effort. We are not looking for concessions or shortcuts on this path. We are ready to do our homework and we want to be assessed according to the result.
In this context, we welcome the European Parliament's resolution of 5 May, which recommends granting the Republic of Moldova the candidate status and the prospect of EU membership. This is an important signal of support for our citizens.
Moreover, Moldova has proven once again its attachment to European values in the context of the war in Ukraine. Our country firmly condemned the war from the very first day and we called for the restoration of peace. Moldovan citizens opened their homes and hearts to Ukrainian refugees.
Nearly half a million refugees passed through our country since 24 February. Almost 90 thousand of them remain in Moldova today, and half of them are children. I thank the European institutions and EU Member States for the aid and assistance provided to our country in the context of managing the influx of refugees. We will continue to welcome all those who seek shelter.
Moldova has an ambitious development agenda in cooperation with the European Union. But development requires peace. To that end, we must now focus all our efforts on stopping Russian military aggression and restoring peace. The brave people of Ukraine, who are fighting today for their freedom, for our freedom and for the freedom of Europe, need our help.
