<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares expressed his support for Moldova's democracy and "European path" this Friday, one week after the first bilateral summit between the European Union and Moldova was held in Chisinau.</strong></h4> "I just spoke with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Mihai Popsoi," Albares wrote on social media. "I have expressed my firm support for democracy in his country and for all those who build it every day," he continued. "We have also reaffirmed our joint work to ensure the success of his European path," he concluded. Albares and Popsoi held their first bilateral meeting last March in Madrid, during which the Spanish minister conveyed Spain's support "on its European path" and reiterated our country's commitment to Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity and Spain's determined support in the face of hybrid threats and attempts by Russia to destabilize its democracy and institutions. The two ministers also discussed the reforms underway in Moldova within the framework of the European Union accession process, "which began with the opening of negotiations during the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union in December 2023." Moldova formally applied to join the European Union in March 2022 and has been a candidate country since June of that same year. Political contacts between Spain and Moldova have multiplied since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Albares visited the country on March 16 of that year, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has since traveled to Moldova twice: in June 2022, on a bilateral visit, and in June 2023, on the occasion of the European Political Community Summit. Likewise, Moldovan President Maia Sandu participated in the Granada European Community Summit in October 2023, where the leaders of the 27 Member States supported EU enlargement, considering it "a geostrategic investment in peace, security, stability, and prosperity" and "an engine for improving the economic and social conditions of European citizens, reducing disparities between countries, and fostering the values on which the Union is founded." It was precisely in the name of the Granada Declaration that the European Council approved, on December 15, 2023 (the last of the previous Spanish Presidency of the EU Council), the start of negotiations for the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU, after overcoming the blockade of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "Today is a historic day for Europe," Pedro Sánchez declared that day via X. In March 2024, José Manuel Albares had a telephone conversation with Cristina Gherasimov, Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and chief negotiator for her country's EU accession, who thanked Spain for its support for Chișinău's European aspirations. <h5><strong>EU-Moldova Summit</strong></h5> On July 4, the first EU-Moldova Summit was held in Chisinau, where António Costa, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, met with Maia Sandu. At the end of the meeting, the leaders adopted a joint declaration in which Brussels expressed its "strong political support for Moldova's accession process," welcomed "its reform efforts," and established "commitments in areas such as energy, security and defense, trade, economic development, the digital transition, and youth." It also highlighted "the EU's strong support for Moldova's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and resilience in the face of Russian hybrid attacks." On June 18, the European Parliament approved a report recognizing that EU-Moldova relations have entered a new phase and praising the efforts of the Chișinău government to harmonize Moldovan legislation with that of the EU (the so-called "EU acquis"). Despite significant internal and external challenges, such as the effects of Russia's ongoing war against its neighbor Ukraine and Moscow's interference in Moldova's democratic processes, MEPs welcomed the Moldovan government's progress in meeting EU enlargement requirements and the country's ambition to begin negotiations on more enlargement-related issues. Therefore, MEPs urged the European Commission to strengthen its support for Moldova to achieve these goals.
