At a meeting between Moldovan President Maia Sandu and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the presidential palace in Chisinau and attended by Kyiv Post on Wednesday, topics centered around five initiatives involving economic investment, anti-corruption measures, cyber-security, energy and communications integration, and countering Russian propaganda.
Sandu discussed the reform plan of the Republic of Moldova must implement to join the European Union. In addition, she noted the country’s success in the fight against corruption and Russian influence within the country, including Russian propaganda.
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Ursula von der Leyen noted the country’s success in supporting Ukrainian refugees, despite Russian blackmail. According to the president of the European Commission, the European Society supports the Republic of Moldova for its stability and unity around a certain course towards EU membership.
“Today, I am glad to announce a new support package for Moldova with a double objective,” said von der Leyen.
“We want to support you to address the impact of the war on your doorstep and we want to bring you closer to the EU.
“This package has five very concrete initiatives.,” she said .
The first initiative will reduce to mobile phone roaming charges between the EU and Moldova. Telecom operators signed an agreement lowering the data and voice roaming prices starting next year.
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The second initiative will provide additional EU economic support. Since October 2021 the European Union has provided more than EUR 1 billion to Moldova. This includes EUR 300 million in macro-financial assistance.
This year the EU is stepping up support with their economic and investment plan for Moldova. That means the EU can now leverage EUR 1.6 billion for the Republic of Moldova.
The package’s third point supports the energy sector with short-term and long-term measures. The EU will give EUR 100 million to cover immediate needs. And they will work on projects to facilitate Moldova’s integration into European Union’s energy market.
The fourth initiative will increase Moldovan security and resilience. The EU just launched a partnership mission to provide Chisinau with strategic advice on crisis management and hybrid threats – for instance, cyber security and countering foreign interference.
The fifth initiative concerns Moldova's reforms to advance on the EU path. Von der Leyen said that Moldova has so far made very good progress and the EU will support the advancement of the country even faster.
They will now significantly increase the number of staff of the EU delegation in Chisinau to support Moldova in the development of the reforms and to help to build the administrative capacity that is needed to join the EU.
This meeting was held within the framework of the summit of the European Political Community. The summit will bring together top politicians and leaders from more than 47 countries in the Republic of Moldova.
According to the official statement of Maia Sandu, the second meeting of the European Political Community will discuss joint efforts for peace in the context of the war in Ukraine and related crises, the protection of democracy, strengthening energy security and the sustainability of European states.
It’s expected that the summit will become a kind of geopolitical message to the Kremlin about the unity and resilience of European countries. In addition, this is an important message not only for the Russian leadership but also for Moldovan society, which demonstrated its commitment to the European path at a recent mass rally.
Also, today, on June 1, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the event for the follow-on meetings.
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