Johannes Hahn: Moldova May Join EU before 2030

Moldova has a chance to join the European Union before 2030. The progress made by the republic shows that this goal is rather achievable. These statements were made by Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, who arrived in Moldova today to celebrate Europe Day. “I have been watching Moldova for more than 10 years in different areas, noting the ups and downs, but now we see only a positive trend. There are still some things to be done, but looking at the progress achieved, I think that soon this will be implemented, and then the EU member states will agree to start negotiations,” he said. In turn, President Maia Sandu expressed hope for a positive decision to start the negotiations at the end of next month, noting that the process of assessing the compliance of the national legislation with the EU standards is under way. “The most important decisions on the part of the EU member states have already been taken. This should inspire Moldovan citizens; European integration is the country’s main project,” the head of state claimed. Earlier, EU ambassador Janis Mazeiks suggested on TV8 that negotiations on Moldova’s accession to the EU might start before the end of June. “It is quite possible. The green light for negotiations was already given in December. Reportedly, it is indeed possible to start negotiations by the end of June,” he said. At the same time, Mazeiks added that decision on the start of the accession negotiations might be taken jointly.