Sandu to lobby for EU accession talks for Moldova
Moldovan President Maia Sandu will visit several countries in the coming months to secure support for the launch of EU accession talks for her country.
Sandu told Radio Moldova that the government will continue to work on its foreign policy and on meeting the nine conditions set by the EU. She said that Moldova is determined to move forward, regardless of the obstacles created by corrupt groups in the system.
"I will have several visits," Sandu said. "I will focus on countries where we want to make sure that we will have a positive vote for the launch of negotiations. We will work hard on the foreign policy side, and of course the government will work on the internal policy to meet the EU conditions. We need both political support and excellent technical assessment so that we can have the decision to launch negotiations as soon as possible. Of course, we have problems in the justice system, but the EU sees the authentic efforts of the authorities. I do not believe that we will have substantial problems on this subject."
As a candidate country for EU membership, Moldova was required to meet nine conditions, including judicial reform, the fight against corruption, and de-oligarchization.
According to the government's calendar, the European Commission will publish a report in October assessing Moldova's progress on meeting the conditions. The 27 EU member states will then decide whether or not to begin accession talks.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
