Maia Sandu addressed the European deputies, asking them to provide support in granting Moldova the status of an EU candidate country.
Speaking to the European deputies, the President of Moldova spoke about the country's achievements in the development of freedom and democracy, the creation of a rule of law state, the implementation of economic and social reforms, the provision of effective and transparent public administration, etc. She noted that the government has taken on a difficult obligation to reform justice, and today the institutions are becoming more “clean”, legal processes are becoming more professional, it was possible to eliminate a lot of corruption schemes through which the state and the population were plundered. Sandu noted that the creation of strong justice institutions will take some time, and she asked for EU assistance in the fight against corruption. “I ask you to sanction the politicians who stole state money and went abroad. You must help us return this money, and call the criminals to account before the law,” Sandu said, urging the EU to abandon “dirty” money, especially from countries with fragile democracies. The President of Moldova said that one of the challenges for our country is the creation of economic conditions, including to convince young people to return to their homeland. She noted that support is being provided for small and medium-sized enterprises, programs for entrepreneurs are being implemented with the support of the EU, important steps are being taken to increase the efficiency of public spending and implement social support, for the population's access to quality education and health services. Herewith, the head of state noted that the crises of recent years, the final of which was the war in Ukraine, had an impact on the Moldovan economy: a historical average annual inflation rate of about 27% was registered, investments were stopped due to the war, important supply chains of goods were disrupted - after all, despite the fact that 67% of Moldova's foreign trade was carried out with the EU, an important part of the trade falls on Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. The Transnistrian issue and the territorial integrity of the country remain a separate problem. Maia Sandu assured that the authorities intend to resolve this conflict through diplomacy. Speaking about the war in the neighboring country, Sandu noted that at present there are no signs that Moldova could be involved in hostilities. The President stressed that Moldova does not want either war or destabilization, is a neutral country, and in order to maintain neutrality, the authorities are asking the Russian Federation to withdraw its military contingent from the territory of the Transnistrian region. In her speech, the President of Moldova expressed gratitude to the EU for the support rendered to our country and confirmed the European aspirations of the people of Moldova. According to her, Moldova is a European country with a European language, history and political system. “A third of us are already European citizens. And our large diaspora is among you. We come from a different society, where different cultures have coexisted for centuries. We are Europeans. Our economy and trade are connected to the EU, and the EU is our main investment and trade partner,” she said, emphasizing the further intention of the Moldovan authorities to continue the process of integration into the EU. // 18.05.2022- InfoMarket
