President of Moldova Maia Sandu said that the country has taken an important step towards European integration, but now the authorities of the republic must build a European state that really cares about citizens.
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The EU summit on December 14 decided to launch negotiations on future membership of the European Union with Ukraine and Moldova. On Sunday, a festive concert was held in front of the presidential administration building on this occasion.
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“On the fourteenth of December we took another important step. It now depends on us whether the road will be short or long. We have two tasks: to build a European state that takes care of its citizens, and two – to build a truly European society where people live in harmony and respect each other,” Sandu told the crowd.
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She thanked the EU states and European delegations who helped Moldova move closer to the goal.
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“Over the past three years we have taken more decisive steps towards European integration than in the last thirty years, but the door to the EU was opened for us thanks to the efforts and work of all conscientious people in this country, those who fought for the freedom and independence of Moldova, those who fought on the streets and in elections for justice and against corruption, those who work honestly at home or in the diaspora,” Sandu concluded.
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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.
