MEP Maria GRAPINI: “The Republic of Moldova must be supported by Romania to follow the European path, the path of democracy and respect for human rights!”

In her third term in the European Parliament, MEP Maria Grapini was invited, as a member of the European Parliament’s delegation for the Republic of Moldova, to the show “Romanian Reality” on the television station “Voice of Bessarabia”.

“I believe that the Republic of Moldova must be supported to follow the European path. Romania, in particular, will help it learn from its mistakes made on the European path during the pre-accession period and in the 17 years since its accession to the European Union in 2007,” emphasized MEP Grapini.

As a member of the EP delegation for the Republic of Moldova since her first term as an MEP in 2014, Maria Grapini has participated several times in important meetings with institutions in the Republic of Moldova as part of these delegations, in the context of the EU accession agreements signed for both the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

According to MEP Grapini, as EU accession negotiations began this summer, the steps, milestones, and obligations that the Republic of Moldova must fulfill on this European path are being closely monitored.

Specifically, Maria Grapini noted that she suggested to the Moldovan Parliament, both during meetings in Chișinău and in Brussels, to ask clearly when there are uncertainties in this regard.

“Negotiations and arguments must be extremely well-prepared, based on the real needs of the Republic of Moldova when approaching the European Commission for milestone verification, in order to find the best solutions together. Especially in this extremely complicated context, I wish for a European path for the Republic of Moldova. Be assured that both I and all Romanians in the EP, regardless of our political group, support the Republic of Moldova’s accession to the EU!”, added Maria Grapini.

Additionally, during discussions with officials in Chișinău, as well as in specific meetings with important associations in the Republic of Moldova, such as the Judges’ Association or the Journalists’ Association, MEP Grapini emphasized the primary conditionality for EU accession, namely the functioning of the rule of law, which primarily requires the reform of the judicial system, the functioning of justice, and respect for human rights.

My suggestion, the MEP added, was to increase transparency and communication between institutions and citizens.

“Given that Romania has a few more years of experience compared to the Republic of Moldova within the EU, all this experience must be transferred because, as you know, in management, there is that model regarding the sharing of positive experiences.”

“I personally have supported in the EP that the budget allocated to the Republic of Moldova should be larger and, of course, that we should also have that know-how transferred, even in terms of human resources, to help the democratic institutions (which are newer in the Republic of Moldova) that must follow the path to the EU, the path of democracy and human rights.”, concluded Maria Grapini.