F.P. Report
BRUSSELS: High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell has said that he had the pleasure to welcome in Brussels the new Prime Minister and the new Foreign Minister of the Republic of Moldova.
I congratulated them, and let me congratulate you again- also publically – for the very clear and strong mandate you received from the Moldovan people. And this mandate is to advance reforms.
You got a strong vote of confidence and this is both a big honour, but also a big responsibility. It will also bring new dynamics into our relations.
In today’s meeting, we discussed the prospects for enhancing cooperation between the European Union and Moldova.
I welcome your clear objective to bring Moldova closer to the European Union, based on our common values of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
You know that we strongly support the ambitious reforms agenda of your government, especially on the field of the rule of law, the reform of the justice system and on tackling corruption.
I think that it is very much important that these reforms will be sustainable and achieve the expected results. The European Commission has pledged financial support for their implementation.
All the institutions of the European Union will continue being committed to the political association and economic integration with Moldova, in line with the European Union-Moldova Association Agreement. Soon, at the end of October, we are going to meet the Council of this Association Agreement.
We also discussed the way forward for cooperation in the area of security and defence – very much important area for the Republic of Moldova– and we agreed to relaunch bilateral consultations in order to identify more concrete areas for further cooperation.
Unavoidably, we touched upon the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. We continue being ready to facilitate a comprehensive, peaceful and sustainable settlement process on the basis of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova, within its internationally recognised borders, with a special status for Transnistria.
We have also discussed the Eastern Partnership policy, which in my view should continue to develop on the principles of inclusivity and differentiation, with its bilateral as well as multilateral track.
Finally, we agreed that the upcoming European Union-Moldova Association Council, which is scheduled for the end of October, will provide a new opportunity to discuss these and other areas of cooperation in more detail and in concrete terms.
Prime Minister, it has been a pleasure, Foreign Affairs Minister, it has been a pleasure to meet you. Congratulations once again and good luck with this difficult task.
