Maia Sandu: The Republic of Moldova is ready for the start of EU accession negotiations
The Republic of Moldova is ready for the start of accession negotiations to the European Union, said the head of state Maia Sandu at the joint press conference with her Portuguese counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. In this context, the president is confident that she will receive a positive response from the European Council.
"We will continue to work even after December, because the reforms we committed to carry out, not only towards the EU, but also towards the people of the Republic of Moldova, the fight against corruption and the strengthening of the institutions' capacities, the justice reform , improving the business environment and many others are our main commitments to people. We will do our best, we do not try to find shortcuts and we very much hope that, when the Republic of Moldova is ready, the EU will accept the Republic of Moldova", declared Maia Sandu.
For his part, the president of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, mentioned that the Republic of Moldova is making every effort to become a member of the European Union. At the same time, the leader from Lisbon said that he wants this route to be as short as possible.
"We really want to have a decision at the end of this year, the beginning of next year, which says that we want the Republic of Moldova inside the European Union. After that follows the path that the Republic of Moldova must go through, longer or shorter, we of course want it to be a shorter one. I hope that by the time I turn 82-83, say, I will be alive and see the Republic of Moldova as a member of the European Union", said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
We remind that this is the first visit of a president of the Republic of Portugal to the Republic of Moldova during 30 years since diplomatic relations were established.
