The European Commission’s Director-General for European Neighbourhood Policy – Christian Danielsson – visited Chișinău on September 16, where he met with the Prime Minister Maia Sandu, the President Igor Dodon, as well as the Speaker of the Parliament, Zinaida Greceanîi. 

During the visit, Danielsson reaffirmed the E.U.’s commitment to supporting the reform effort led by Sandu’s Government and to delivering tangible benefits to the citizens of Moldova by encouraging future reforms.

“The E.U.’s support to the Republic of Moldova is focused on bringing tangible benefits to the lives of citizens across the country.  Since the Sandu Government took office, the E.U. has seen genuine political will to address reforms in areas that directly impact people’s lives, such as the fight against corruption, electoral reform,” Danielsson said during the visit.

Prime Minister Sandu and Christian Danielsson discussed the implementation of the Moldova-E.U. Association Agreement, as well as the progress in fulfilling the conditions for obtaining macro-financial assistance from the European Union. 

According to a statement issued by the Government, Prime Minister Sandu stressed the importance of European assistance in several key areas, such as justice, the fight against corruption, solving the energy problem and the possibility of increasing the budget support in the coming years.

“We hope that soon we will see concrete results, the citizens of the Republic of Moldova will also feel these results. We discussed the E.U.’s external assistance, which we expect until the end of this year. We are determined to move very quickly, so that all commitments are fulfilled in time and we can benefit from the two tranches of macro-financial assistance,” the Prime Minister underscored.

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Director-General Danielsson also expressed his appreciation for the progress made by the new Government.

“Starting in June, we saw the Government determined to act in several areas that are essential for cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, in fulfilling the commitments made under the Association Agreement. [This] is about the depoliticization of institutions, the fight against corruption and the reform of justice. The Prime Minister and the Government have taken important steps in this direction in recent months and we will support these efforts. But of course, our support is not unconditional, it is important that all these measures are implemented,” said the European official.

The officials also set priorities for cooperation in the future. While the Prime Minister submitted the possibility of financing a project called “The European Village” for consideration, as well.

During his visit, Director-General Danielsson also held a public speech to business representatives and civil society organizations at the European Business Association, in order to reaffirm the E.U.’s commitment to support Moldova’s reforms aimed at building an economy that works for the Moldovan people and plans to uphold certain values and the rule of law.

A public discussion between the E.U., the Government of the Republic of Moldova, and civil society representatives also took place during the visit, where they exchanged views on the future of the Eastern Partnership.

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