The MEP Encouraged to Grant Moldova a EU Candidate Status

Siegfried Muresan, co-chairman of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee, said that a joint statement was adopted in Strasbourg calling on EU institutions to work towards granting Moldova a EU candidate status. "The most important thing we have done today in the Parliamentary Association Committee is adoption of a joint statement offering very broad support to Moldova. First of all, the Moldovan MEPs and parliamentarians present at the meeting ask, in the adopted declaration, the institutions of the European Union to work towards granting Moldova the status of a candidate country in the EU," Muresan said, quoted by G4media. He stressed whatever the EU offers to Ukraine, it should also offer to Moldova at the moment, and that the European perspective proposed by the document adopted on Wednesday is similar to what the EU legislature proposed to Ukraine in the resolution adopted in early March. "The answer we give today to Moldova's intention to join the EU is yes, welcome, you have such a prospect, let's get to work, to work for Moldova to get the status of a candidate country, and then, of course, all the other stages," Siegfried Muresan said. According to him, the statement adopted on Wednesday also contains a commitment to accelerate Moldova's integration into the EU Single Market. "Until the moment when Moldova's accession to the EU can be completed by political and institutional means, we are obliged to bring it as close as possible to the EU. By including the country in the single European market, we will facilitate economic and trade exchanges between Moldova and the EU. Moldova could export more to the EU. Then we would have more European investments in Moldova, while introducing the European legislation in many sectors," Muresan explained. Also, the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee called on the European Commission to create a support group to provide more administrative and technical aid to our country. "We see an increased desire in Moldova to cooperate with the EU, there is a package of economic assistance worth 600 million euros for the next three years. In order for Moldova to master these resources and finance the most suitable projects, it is necessary that the EU institutions increase their administrative and technical commitments," he stressed. At the same time, the statement calls on Member states to cooperate with the Moldovan authorities in investigating the theft of 1 billion euros from the banking system. "There is a possibility that some of these assets will end up in the EU member states, the probability of their return will be much higher if the authorities of the EU member states cooperate with the Moldovan authorities," Muresan explained. The Committee also called on the EC to increase financial support for our country. Point