Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi's press statement during the joint press conference following the EU-Moldova Association Council

Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi's press statement

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Thank you very much!

First of all, I want to welcome the Prime Minister and his delegation. I cannot but emphasize, like previous two speakers, that today's meeting was particularly important and significant after the European Council decision in December to open accession negotiations with Moldova.

I think that we have been very clear all the way, and also today, that we welcome Moldova's clear and strong commitment to its accession path to the EU. The country's progress in implementing the necessary reforms, as well as setting up all the structures that are needed to implement those, are substantial.

Regarding the steps out outlined in our report back in 2023 and then confirmed as still outstanding by the European Council, our focus is now on the justice reform, especially on vetting and appointments of Moldova's core judicial and prosecutor bodies, including of the Prosecutor General.

We have encouraged Moldova to complete the last remaining step on the required reforms to make the justice system independent, impartial, accountable, professional and, last but not least, trusted by the citizens of Moldova. We all agree that in a democratic country, a well-functioning justice system is a key for further development and for the EU integration to go ahead.

We also encourage Moldova to reinforce the fight against corruption and to continue building a strong track record on corruption investigations and convictions. On the oligarchization it is important to implement the dedicated action plan and set up a strong coordination mechanism.

We also touched upon the issue of the 2014 banking fraud, where we have applauded the efforts and the hard work done both in the legislative branch, the executive branch and then later on in the judiciary. And we encouraged our partners to continue with the impartial investigations and prosecutions and confiscation of assets.

From our side, we will continue to support Moldova's effort on the enlargement track, as well as in addressing the challenges posed by the geopolitical context also surrounding Moldova.

And I'm very proud to say that since 2021 we have as EU mobilised a financial support of €2.2 billion already for the country. These investments are spearheaded by the Economic and Investment Plan, which has mobilised already €1.5 billion in public and private investments in key sectors like energy, transport and access to finance, especially for the SMEs [small and medium enterprises].

At today's meeting, we also discussed the deepening cooperation across policy areas. Since the last Association Council Meeting, Moldova has become part of several EU programmes: like the Connecting Europe Facility, the Single Market Programme, Digital Europe and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

In this context, I'm also pleased that two agreements were signed today in the margins of our meeting. The first was the establishing of the EU Moldova Security and Defence Partnership and the second was Moldova's participation in the Employment and Social Innovation strand of the ESF+, European Social Fund Plus programme.

And the other topic, I think, which is of direct benefit for the citizens and businesses both of Moldova and the EU, is the reduction of roaming charges, which remains a key priority, something that has started out with the joint declaration signed by the Moldovan operators and the EU operators. Now we need to make sure that this is implemented fully and that we can bring in Moldova to the EU single roaming area. But for this to happen, we still need Moldova to make further progress in alignment with our acquis.

Today we also addressed the challenges that Moldova continues to face stemming from the Russian aggression against Ukraine. In this context, we particularly appreciate Moldova's crucial support in making the Solidarity Lanes operational and keeping them operational, because these remain a lifeline for Ukraine's economy by facilitating the export and import of essential goods.

Last but not least, which was I think the biggest challenge in front of the country, but now we already see work paying dividends, is energy security. With EU support, Moldova has made remarkable progress. Moldova is no longer the dependent on Russian gas since December 2022. Moldova not only is not dependent, but it is not even consuming any Russian gas anymore.

The electricity grids of the country are now synchronised with continental European grid. But of course, there are vulnerabilities still, something that we need to continue to work on, so that energy cannot be used anymore as a leverage or weapon against the country, be it the election campaign, be it the referendum or be it just the everyday lives of the people.

So, I think to conclude, we came really long way. Since the historic decision of the European Council of last December to open the accession negotiations were made, Moldova has continued to prove that it can systematically work and deliver on the reforms that are necessary to become a Member State of the European Union.

Thank you!