Nicu Popescu: The EU has turned Portugal into a solid democracy, this is what we will replicate in the Republic of Moldova
The Republic of Moldova is on the same path to integration into the European Union (EU) as Portugal, and the fight against corruption is a cornerstone for consolidating accession, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, told Agência Lusa, as quoted by observador.pt..
The head of diplomacy in Chisinau noted that accession to the EU has made Portugal a solid and consolidated democracy, safer and also more prosperous. "This is what we are going to replicate in Moldova," Nicu Popescu explained in an interview with Lusa news agency in Brussels.
Moldova became a candidate for EU membership in June 2022, alongside Ukraine, a process accelerated by Russia's invasion of the neighbouring country in February that year. The road to Chisinau will be long, as it is in Kiev, but unlike Ukraine, Moldova has not set a deadline of 2026 for joining the EU bloc. On this path, according to the minister in Chisinau, "there is still much to be done".
"The work of our government has already been recognised", the acting deputy prime minister of Moldova said, referring in this context to the fight against "money laundering and in the recovery of state assets stolen by oligarchs, including the return to state possession of Chisinau International Airport in November 2022, which has been since 2013 "in the hands" of Ilan Shor.
Nicu Popescu added that Moldova was already "part of the practical structures of the European Union and this was visible this winter, when "90% of electricity came from Romania", which is an EU member state.
