Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Maia SANDU, President of the Republic of Moldova hold a press conference in the European Parliament in Brussels. Maia SANDU addressed to MEPs during the plenary session in Brussels (18 May 2022).

Press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and by Maia SANDU, President of the Republic of Moldova

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, I am very, very proud to welcome President Sandu here today. We had an excellent exchange during our bilateral meeting and we just had a very important debate in the plenary. As time is limited and you have been able to follow the debate, let me just make two short points before giving the floor to my friend Maia and before taking your questions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, First of all, Maia, let me thank you and your country for your courage and the generosity when it comes to supporting Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. Moldova is hosting more Ukrainians per capita than any other country. We know the challenges that you are facing. So let me assure you that this parliament will do everything possible to keep supporting you in this effort.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And secondly, Moldova belongs in the European family. Each path is different and individual. But if people look to us for a purpose, then we must also be ready to be open. And the worst thing, as you also told us we can do, is stand down our neighbours that look to Europe, our ideals and our common values. So thank you very much. Dear president, dear Maia the floor is yours.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Maia SANDU, President of Moldova, Thank you, Madam President. Thank you very much for the invitation to speak in the plenary of the European Parliament for your warm welcome. In my speech this afternoon before the European Parliament, I talked about the challenges that the Republic of Moldova is faced with, given the security situation now with Russia's war against Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Maia SANDU, President of Moldova, I talked about our commitment to change our country despite these challenges. And I put forward our arguments about why Moldova should be granted the status of candidate country.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Maia SANDU, President of Moldova, The Republic of Moldova is a European country with a European history that will certainly have a European future. We speak one of the EU official languages and our people have repeatedly shown how committed they are to freedom and democracy when they fought anti-democratic abuse in our country.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Maia SANDU, President of Moldova, We started a huge reform process that aims at consolidating state institutions and boosting the economy, reforming the judiciary, boosting the capacity of corruption, fighting institutions. We want to build a country where our citizens can catch a glimpse of their future.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Maia SANDU, President of Moldova, And the EU is our main economic and development partner. The war in Ukraine has brought instability and uncertainty in the region, but also an opportunity to rebuild the continent based on fairer rules. We need to decide if we want the Republic of Moldova to be secure and to develop. For us, the EU is first and foremost a harbinger of peace. This is why on the side of March, we signed the accession demand. And because accession to the EU, the membership is the only chance that we have to be part of the free world.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Maia SANDU, President of Moldova, We are not naive. We believe that EU integration for our country will be a lengthy and intricate process that will demand a lot of work on our side. We are not looking for shortcuts. We are ready to do our homework and we want to be assessed based on what we do. And we salute the resolution of the European Parliament on the 5th of May that says that the Republic of Moldova should be granted the status of candidate country and has a membership perspective. This is very important for us. The there is a signal of support for our citizens.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Maia SANDU, President of Moldova, The Republic of Moldova has shown that it is committed to EU values also in the context of war. We have condemned in no uncertain terms the war and pleaded for peace. And our people have opened their homes and their hearts to the Ukrainian refugees. Almost half a million refugees have passed through our country from the 24th of February. Ninety thousand of whom are still in the country, and half of them are children. I would like to thank the EU institutions and EU member states for the help that they gave us in order to manage the influx of refugees. We will keep the door open for everyone who needs shelter.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Maia SANDU, President of Moldova, We have an ambitious development agenda in terms of cooperation with the EU, but in order to develop, we need peace. This is why we need to spare no effort in order to stop Russia's aggression and bring back peace. There are brave people of Ukraine who are now fighting for their freedom, but for our freedom as well, for the freedom of Europe. And they need our help.

Q&A Question for Maia Sandu regarding the need for rejection of dirty money coming from fragile democracies on the EU.

Q&A Question for Roberta Metsola about a common opinion around EU member states regarding Moldova's accession to the EU and the reticencies of some states.

Q&A Question for Maia Sando about the danger of Russian war against Ukraine for the Baltic states and if there is a possibility that Russia will attack Baltic states.

Sündmuse kuupäev	18.5.2022
Reference:	I225295V

Press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and by Maia SANDU, President of the Republic of Moldova

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