Nicu Popescu: The war in Ukraine only sped the EU integration process, but it was not a guarantee
The Republic of Moldova could fulfill the necessary conditions for joining the EU by 2030, but the integration process itself is long and may take 20-30 years, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, said during a program on TV8. According to him, the war in Ukraine was an impetus for offering the Republic of Moldova the status of a candidate country for EU membership, but not a guarantee.
The achievements of the Republic of Moldova in the process of European integration in the next 7 years depend on us, on the political will. The admission of our country to the EU will depend on these results, but after this political decision others will follow, because the EU accession includes integration segments such as the euro zone and the Schengen zone, and this process can last 20-30 years, as the experience of some states. Currently, the Republic of Moldova is quite strongly integrated in certain segments of the EU, for example, in the commercial sphere. Now 2/3 of exports are directed to the EU, and from an economic point of view, the Republic of Moldova is more integrated into the EU than Georgia or Ukraine. We hope to start accession negotiations this year. Then, it will be the moment of accession to the European Union. After a few years we will join the Schengen area and the euro zone, and other dimensions of European integration"*, declared Nicu Popescu.
We remind that of the 35 actions that were to be implemented by the end of 2022, 16 have been implemented and nine are at the final stage. Among them are: the extraordinary evaluation of the candidates for the Superior Council of Magistrates and the Superior Council of Prosecutors (pre-vetting); clarifying the powers of the Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-corruption Center in terms of combating grand corruption. Also, the promotion of a package of normative acts to eliminate the influence of the oligarchs from the political, economic and media spheres follows - according to the information presented yesterday within the National Commission for European Integration. The members of the Commission agreed on the elaboration of a Plan to adjust the national legislation to the acquis communautaire. The Republic of Moldova must meet the 9 conditionalities set by Brussels by June in order to start accession negotiations. The European Union will evaluate their fulfillment in October.
