Balutel: We Are Ready for Anything in the European Integration Process

PAS MP Adrian Balutel, who recently took over as chairman of Parliament’s European Integration Committee, said Moldova is prepared to accept stricter conditions in the process of joining the European Union. Asked whether the government is ready to meet any requirements in this context, the MP replied: “Yes, we really are,” unimedia.info reports. “Our country has great ambitions to succeed in the European integration process. To what extent will these ambitions help us prepare for and deal with new provisions that are currently being discussed at the European Union level, including at the level of the European Council, particularly the tightening of EU enlargement rules? Are we ready for anything?” Balutel was asked. “Yes, we really are,” the PAS MP replied. “Very optimistic.” “I am an optimist by nature, and I will explain why. We view the EU integration process not merely as technical negotiations. We see it as a transformation of society, based on the fact that no EU member state has become worse off after joining the EU, while a significant leap in the development of these countries took place precisely during the accession process. That is what we are focusing on. And if this entails certain stricter requirements from the EU, we are ready to discuss them and take them on if they benefit the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.” “But what if these requirements, at this point, to some extent run counter to the interests of certain groups within Moldova’s population? I mean, for example, agricultural producers. What happens then?” “Overall, the European integration process does not conflict with the interests of particular groups of citizens, whether farmers, industrialists or others. When implementing certain EU standards that may be costly in some cases, the EU in most instances provides financial support so that these changes can be implemented by citizens of the countries undertaking this transformation.”