Financiarul

The launch of the informal group meant to support the European action of the Republic of Moldova is a step that grew in importance thanks to its association with France and was attended by several ministers, secretaries of state and ambassadors from countries that seem to be more and more interested in a European consensus referring to the Republic of Moldova and the new government in Chisinau getting closer to the Union, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Baconschi on Monday, in Brussels, at the end of the meetings of the General Affairs Council and of the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU.

“It is an open initiative, in which, for the time being, Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Great Britain, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and Hungary also take part. Of course, there is nothing connected to a constraining format, to a schedule and so on. It is a framework for discussions in which we are going to periodically inform our partners of the hopefully positive developments in the neighbouring country and also of the stage of our own bilateral and regional interaction in order to establish the democratic change in Chisinau and the new bilateral relation as well as possible,” Baconschi told a news conference given at the end of the meetings on Monday.

The Romania chief diplomat added that he established a good relation with his Moldovan counterpart Iurie Leanca, who was in Brussels on Monday, and that, in the time to come, they would intensify the bilateral contacts for preparing the future joint meeting of the governments of the two countries, which will be the best framework for putting into practice the political decisions made on the occasion of the visit to be paid soon by President Traian Basescu to Chisinau.

The launch of the above-mentioned group was co-chaired by Pierre Lellouche, Secretary of State for European Affairs with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and had Vice-Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, Minister of Foreign Affairs and of European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, as a special guest. Ministers, secretaries of state and ambassadors to the EU of Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the Federal Republic of Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Great Britain, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and Hungary attended the above-mentioned event.

During the debates they conveyed firm messages of support to the clear pro-European orientation of the authorities in Chisinau and revealed the crucial importance of giving substantial and immediate support both by the EU and by the member states.
They also launched ideas and concrete suggestions for the near future. The initiative of the Romanian side aims at intensifying the dialogue in the EU referring to the European prospect of the Republic of Moldova and at supporting in a pragmatic and constant way the necessary steps that have to be taken in this respect.