Correspondence from Bulgaria// How the Bulgarian press covered the EPC Summit in Moldova
The European Political Community Summit, which took place on Thursday in Bulboaca, was a good opportunity for the Republic of Moldova to improve its credibility as a candidate state for accession to the European Union, commented the Bulgarian press following the event. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev was also present at the meeting and took part in a round table discussion on energy with representatives of nearly 20 other countries, which also focused on Moldova's energy security, reports Radio Moldova correspondent Alina Zlatov.
The Sofia press commented on Moldova's European integration prospects, saying that unlike Ukraine, its western neighbour is small enough to be able to integrate relatively easily into the European Union. She also noted that our country faces a number of significant challenges, such as the fight against corruption, the fragile economy and the separatist Transnistrian region.
Unlike Ukraine, Moldova is small enough to integrate relatively easily into the European Union. But it faces a number of challenges in bringing its democratic standards up to EU level, especially in the fight against corruption. Attention also needs to be paid to its fragile economy, energy security and the Transnistrian problem," notes Bulgarian news portal bgnes.
"Moldova received official candidate status for EU membership last June, but needs to continue with reforms, especially in the fight against corruption. The country also needs to resolve the Transnistrian issue, a pro-Russian region with 300,000 inhabitants in the east of the country," elhovo.news also writes.
Bulgaria was represented at the summit by President Rumen Radev, who focused on the energy issues facing Europe, saying the topic was one of the most important for the future of the European continent.
"This is a European meeting with important implications for the future of the continent, against the background of the serious problems with the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia, the war in Ukraine, the growing tension in Kosovo, the problems in energy, the problems of connectivity, the future of our continent in general. An important topic in my discussions will also be the issue of shaken confidence and Bulgaria's European perspective, joining Schengen, deepening European integration. Bulgaria will remain a democratic European country. I will try to convince everyone that our country remains a democracy with European values."
In March 2022, Bulgaria was among the first European states to declare its support for Moldova's European perspective, and last October, during the visit of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Sofia and Chisinau concluded agreements on access to the Bulgarian gas transmission network.
Bulgaria can supply gas from Turkey and Greece to Romania and the Republic of Moldova through the Transbalkan pipeline. Separately, there is an intersystem gas connection between Bulgaria and Romania. In practice, Bulgaria offers a transport capacity of up to 15 billion cubic metres and a further 3 billion cubic metres through its link with Romania.
Bulgaria is also the third largest net exporter of electricity in Europe - about 2000 megawatts every day. And Rumen Radev says Bulgaria is ready to export energy to Moldova as well.
