The Moldovan authorities have set an ambitious but achievable goal for the country to join the EU by 2030, the head of the EU mission in Chisinau, Janis Mažeix, said on Monday.
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“The goal is ambitious, but achievable. It depends on the Moldovan politicians and citizens who will vote in the parliamentary elections. That is, whether they will vote for those forces that are ready to continue the rapid pace of reforms and negotiations,” Mazeix told reporters, commenting on the statements authorities of the republic on completing the European integration process by 2030.
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According to him, European diplomacy is conducting a constructive dialogue with all political parties in Moldova.
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“We do not have a biased attitude. It is important for us to understand the positions of all parties vying for seats in parliament and their real attitude towards the EU. We conduct dialogue with many political forces… However, there is a group with which we fundamentally do not communicate – these are representatives of Ilan Shor,” the EU Ambassador emphasized.
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The EU summit on December 14, 2023 decided to launch negotiations on future membership of the European Union with Ukraine and Moldova. In June 2022, the EU granted EU candidate country status to Ukraine and Moldova, setting several strict conditions for the formal start of accession negotiations. The EU has repeatedly admitted that such a decision was largely symbolic in order to support Kyiv and Chisinau in their confrontation with Moscow.
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The status of a candidate country in itself, as well as the start of negotiations, does not necessarily mean that the country will join the European Union; these steps also do not oblige Brussels to anything.
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Obtaining candidate status is only the beginning of a rather long journey towards joining the EU. Turkey has been in candidate status since 1999, and has been negotiating membership with the EU since 2005, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010, and Serbia since 2012. Croatia was the last country to join the EU in 2013; the process took 10 years.
