Prime Minister Maia Sandu chaired the fifth meeting of the Moldova – European Union Association Council in Brussels today.

At the meeting, the European Union welcomed the vision and the first actions of the Sandu cabinet in the rule of law state sector and reconfirmed the further support for the ambitious agenda of the current Moldovan governance. „Your presence here is a sign of the importance you attach to our partnership and I assure you that the European Union attaches the same importance to its relations with Moldova,” High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said at a today’s news conference which ended the fifth meeting of the Moldova – European Union Association Council.   

„We must make sure that our partnership evolves as time passes and therefore, today we agreed to update the association agenda and set new priorities, based on which the Association Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement is to develop in the next years. We are willing to increase the financial assistance, in order to back the government’s ambitious agenda. We hope to release the first macro-financial installment soon. All these represents a clear signal of appreciation we have for the reforms you have already carried out,” the high EU official also said. Mogherini noted that the reform of the judicial system and the one of the Prosecutor General’s Office were vital issues, which will allow creating a stronger business environment and will stimulate investments.   

For her part, Maia Sandu thanked for the financial support and technical assistance Moldova benefits from in all sectors. “The reconfirmation of the news that we can get the two installments of macro-financial assistance till the end of this year is gladdening,” the Prime Minister specified.  

At the same time, Maia Sandu reiterated the government’s commitment to implement the provisions of the Association Agreement with EU. “These thinks are made, first of all, for Moldova’s citizens, no matter whether we talk about reforms to improve the economic environment, the business one, or whether we speak about the reforms in justice. We will move forward; we have the support of the European institutions and the most important thing – we have the support of the citizens from the country, who want justice to be done for them, to have justice at home, to know that the public money, public property are in safety, just as the private investments,” the prime minister said.  

The Moldovan delegation in Brussels is made up of Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Vasile Sova, Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Nicu Popescu, Economics and Infrastructure Minister Vadim Brinzan, Finance Minister Natalia Gavrilita and Justice Minister Olesea Stamate.  

The Association Council represents the format of institutionalized dialogue between Moldova and EU, at the highest level in the hierarchy of the joint structures set up through the Association Agreement. The meetings of the Association Council are held annually and the delegations are led by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Prime Minister of Moldova.