European Parliament to vote on Moldova's EU membership negotiations
The European Parliament is set to vote on Tuesday on a resolution on the start of EU accession negotiations with Moldova.
In advance of the vote, MEPs will discuss with members of the Commission and the Council the latest developments in Moldova, including the implementation of the nine recommendations made in June 2022, when Moldova was granted candidate status for membership.
Several MEPs, as well as European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, are confident that Moldova could start accession negotiations by the end of this year. Some Moldovan officials share this view. According to them, Moldova is making progress in harmonising national legislation with European law and implementing some of the Commission's conditions, but judicial reform and the fight against corruption are long-term processes.
"These are things that generally take time," said Eugen Caras, head of the European Integration Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, in an interview with Radio Moldova. "What has to do with the fight against crime, corruption, de-oligarchization of society, judicial reform. These things take time, but at the moment, we are talking about the fact that we have done our homework in terms of the legislative framework, of mechanisms that are being created to combat organised crime or corruption."
It is worth noting that in April 2023, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to start EU accession negotiations with Moldova by the end of 2023, if Moldova meets the nine recommendations of the European Commission.
MEP Dacian Cioloș said on Radio Moldova that he has no doubt that the vote will be overwhelmingly in favour of launching negotiations. The resolution is very important from a political point of view, Cioloș said.
"This resolution is important from a political point of view because, on the one hand, it sends a signal of political support from the European Parliament, which is generally in favour of the EU enlargement process and, in particular, in favor of starting accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. The European Parliament has supported the candidate status for the two states from the beginning and will now support the start of accession negotiations."
On Tuesday, October 3, in Strasbourg, the European Parliament will decide whether Moldova is ready to start accession negotiations. A decision by the European Commission will follow, after which the European Council will make the final decision at the summit in December.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
