European Commissioner: The EC to Assess Moldova’s Readiness to Become an EU Candidate by June

The European Commission is working on a report on Moldova's readiness to become an EU candidate. This was stated by European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Oliver Varhelyi. Commenting on the results of the visit of President Maia Sandu to Brussels, he said that “the European Commission is working in an accelerated mode to present the report at the June summit of the Council of the European Union,” infotag.md reports. “We understand that Moldova needs our support and we will continue to provide it,” Varhelyi said. He recalled that, following Sandu’s speech, the European Parliament on May 19 supported a resolution granting Moldova the EU candidate status, urging the European Commission “to complete its assessment as soon as possible and offer Moldova full assistance in this process.” “The European Parliament welcomes Moldova’s submission of application to join the EU on March 3,2022, and calls on the EU institutions to grant EU candidate status to Moldova in line with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union and on the basis of merit, and, in the meantime, to continue working towards its integration into the EU single market and intensify sectoral cooperation,” the resolution adopted by the European Parliament said. The European Parliament also called on EU countries to support Moldova’s European course at a meeting in June. “As in the case of Ukraine, a clear prospect of EU membership will be an essential element of hope that will sustain the morale of the Moldovan population in this period of extreme insecurity and hardship,” the document stresses. The MEPs who spoke at the European Parliament also called for increased aid to Moldova due to the influx of refugees, the energy crisis, tensions in Transdniestria and other consequences of the war in Ukraine. “We must help Moldova, strengthen its resilience, get rid of energy dependence on Russia, we must help them get rid of the disinformation that is harming their European path. Of course, Transdniestria now poses a real danger, and this is a critical moment when Moldova needs all our support,” said Heidi Hautala, vice president of the European Parliament. Point