MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on taking stock of Moldova’s path to the EU
2.10.2023 - (2023/2838(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Dragoş Tudorache, Abir Al‑Sahlani, Petras Auštrevičius, Nicola Beer, Dita Charanzová, Katalin Cseh, Olivier Chastel, Dacian Cioloş, Vlad Gheorghe, Klemen Grošelj, Bernard Guetta, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Nathalie Loiseau, Karen Melchior, Javier Nart, Urmas Paet, Nicolae Dragoş Pîslaru, Frédérique Ries, Ramona Victoria Strugariu, Hilde Vautmans
on behalf of the Renew Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0408/2023
B9‑0417/2023
European Parliament resolution on taking stock of Moldova’s path to the EU
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its recent resolutions on the Republic of Moldova,
– having regard to the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part[1], which includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area,
– having regard to the Republic of Moldova’s application for EU membership of 3 March 2022, and the European Council’s consequent granting of candidate status on 23 June 2022 based on a positive assessment by the Commission and in line with the views expressed by Parliament,
– having regard to the European Council conclusions of 23-24 June 2022 and of 23 March 2023,
– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the Republic of Moldova submitted its application to join the EU on 3 March 2022 and has been an EU candidate country since 23 June 2022;
B. whereas EU-Moldova relations have intensified since then, based on a mutual commitment to strengthening their political association and deepening their economic integration; whereas the Council conclusions of 13 December 2022 on enlargement and stabilisation and association process put the emphasis on further deepening of the EU’s sectoral cooperation with Moldova and its integration in the EU internal market;
C. whereas the Government of the Republic of Moldova has been pursuing an ambitious political, judicial and institutional reform process and has demonstrated its determination and ability to fulfil the nine steps identified in the Commission opinion to meet the conditions set for the opening of accession negotiations; whereas EU accession remains a merit-based process;
D. whereas on 22 June 2023 the Commission provided an oral update to the Council on Moldova’s progress and a more detailed review will form part of the 2023 Enlargement Package reports on the 10 enlargement countries; whereas the Republic of Moldova has been making tremendous efforts and has achieved good progress in implementing all the conditions laid down by the Commission; whereas the upcoming Commission assessment on the progress made by the Republic of Moldova will send a clear political message and have a significant impact on the country’s future;
E. whereas the Republic of Moldova has been disproportionally affected by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which continues to have a significant humanitarian, economic and security impact on the country; whereas the EU and its Member States have provided significant political, economic, and humanitarian support to the Republic of Moldova;
F. whereas despite the dramatic effects of the war on Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova has managed to significantly consolidate its democracy and maintain the reform trajectory; whereas the improvements in the country’s democratic system have been reflected in its progress on various international indexes: 28th place out of 180 countries in the 2023 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index (up from 40th place in 2022); 91st place out of 180 countries in the 2022 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (up from 105th place in 2021); 68th place out of 140 countries in the World Justice Project’s 2022 Rule of Law Index (up from 73rd place in 2021);
G. whereas the Russian Federation has been using provocation, disinformation, illegal funding of political parties, cyberattacks and other hybrid means to undermine the stability, sovereignty, constitutional order and democratic institutions of the Republic of Moldova; whereas Russia’s subversive activities in Moldova seek to undermine popular support for the European path chosen by the Moldovan people and foster destabilisation; whereas Russia has used its gas exports as a tool to pressure the Moldovan government, including as regards its pro-European orientation; whereas, despite all these attempts at destabilisation, the Moldovan people and the Moldovan leadership have remained determined to follow their chosen, pro-European, path;
1. Reaffirms its commitment to the Republic of Moldova’s future membership of the EU; looks forward to the Commission’s assessment on the Republic of Moldova’s fulfilment of the steps identified in the Commission’s opinion as part of the 2023 enlargement package; in this context, reiterates its call on the Commission and the European Council to start the EU accession negotiations with the Republic of Moldova by the end of 2023;
2. Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase financial and technical assistance to the Republic of Moldova to facilitate the process of the country’s swift and effective integration into the EU; calls on the Commission to swiftly disburse the next instalment of the ongoing Macro Financial Assistance (MFA) for the Republic of Moldova and to identify additional funds for Moldova during the revision of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) in 2023; calls on the Commission to ensure that all its future requirements remain clear and precise and to avoid setting moving targets for candidate countries; underlines that the Commission’s providing technical assistance and engaging with the authorities at an early stage of the elaboration of policies and reforms will enable the Republic of Moldova to maintain the speed and quality of the reforms required for EU accession;
3. Calls on the Commission to work towards the inclusion of the Republic of Moldova in the revised IPA III Regulation[2], including by providing support to help the country adequately prepare for optimal utilisation of pre-accession funds;
4. Continues to welcome the Moldovan authorities’ considerable efforts to advance the reform agenda in order to progress towards EU membership; commends the progress made by the Republic of Moldova on justice-sector reform, especially in the context of the implementation of the Commission recommendations on Moldova’s accession application; encourages the government to work with all stakeholders towards a sustainable and comprehensive justice and anti-corruption reform, in line with EU and Venice Commission recommendations;
5. Welcomes the efforts undertaken to enhance the involvement of civil society in decision-making processes; notes that the consultations portal www.particip.gov.md has been updated and now allows for automatic forwarding of policy and legal drafts to stakeholders and collection of their comments and proposals; encourages the authorities to continue improving the transparency of decision-making and involving civil society at all levels, as this will strengthen public support for the reforms;
6. Reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to support the Republic of Moldova’s integration by incorporating the country into EU programmes, instruments and agencies such as the Digital Europe programme, the European Environment Agency, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), DiscoverEU, the Justice Programme (JUST) as well as strengthening the country’s participation in programmes it has already joined, such as Erasmus Mundus;
7. Welcomes recent developments in the areas of civil protection, ‘roam like at home’ and security, which will accelerate legislative approximation and show Moldovan citizens the concrete benefits of closer ties to the EU, thereby increasing popular support for the accession process and, by extension, to pro-European forces in the country;
8. Calls for the EU and its Member States to continue to provide political, economic, and humanitarian support to the Republic of Moldova, particularly through the Moldova Support Platform;
9. Welcomes the renewal of the temporary trade liberalisation measures to support the Republic of Moldova’s economy by suspending all tariff-rate quotas and calls for their further extension; reiterates its call for the EU, given the structure of the small Moldovan economy and based on positive audit assessments, to further permit the import of Moldovan goods of animal origin and to increase its financial assistance to Moldovan farmers affected by the market disruption as a consequence of the war in Ukraine;
10. Strongly condemns the unprecedented hybrid operations orchestrated by the Russian Federation, conducted through its criminal proxies, which are subverting electoral processes in the Republic of Moldova by means of illicit financial support to political parties, with a view to undermining the security, sovereignty, and democratic foundations of the country; calls, in this context, for the EU to increase its support for the Moldovan government’s efforts to prevent such interference in the country’s democratic processes, including through additional targeted sanctions listings;
11. Welcomes the adoption by the Council of a new sanctions framework to target actions aimed at destabilising Moldova, including attempts to undermine its sovereignty and independence by means of corruption; welcomes the Council’s decision to use this framework to sanction Ilan Șor, Vladimir Plahotniuc, Igor Ceaika, Gheorghe Cavcaliuc and Marina Tauber; calls for the EU and national authorities to make sure those sanctions are duly implemented;
12. Reiterates its call on the Russian authorities to respect the Republic of Moldova’s independence, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to cease its provocations and attempts to destabilise the country and undermine its constitutional order and democratic institutions, to withdraw its military forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova and to support a peaceful resolution of the Transnistrian conflict, in line with the principles of international law;
13. Calls for the EU and its institutions to continue to support the Republic of Moldova’s efforts to modernise its payments system so as to enable it to meet the conditions for integration into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA);
14. Calls for the EU and its Member States to ensure that all necessary assistance is provided to the Republic of Moldova to strengthen its institutional mechanisms and its ability to respond to hybrid threats; calls for the EU and its Member States to fully operationalise and strengthen the EU Partnership Mission in the Republic of Moldova (EUPM Moldova) so that it can fulfil its mission to enhance the Republic of Moldova’s resilience; welcomes, in this regard, the signature, in Chișinău on 29 September 2023, of the Agreement on the Status of the EUPM as an important step towards enabling the Mission to fully implement its mandate; calls for the necessary financial resources to be ensured to efficiently implement projects, particularly in the field of training and equipping, so as to strengthen the Republic of Moldova’s capabilities;
15. Calls on the Commission and the European External Action Service to improve strategic communication about the EU in the Republic of Moldova; calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue to support media literacy and the independence of the media in the Republic of Moldova, as well as to support the digital hardening of its critical infrastructure and the replacement of Russian-origin ICT systems;
16. Welcomes the signature, in Chișinău on 29 September 2023, of the Agreement allowing the Republic of Moldova to become a participating state in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism; underlines that the country has already proven to be a reliable partner by hosting and sheltering Ukrainians fleeing the war and that, by joining the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the Republic of Moldova will contribute directly to enhancing emergency preparedness and building a more resilient disaster risk management system in Europe;
17. Reiterates its call on the Member States to increase the contributions the Republic of Moldova receives through the European Peace Facility, with longer term and predictable annual allocations, calls to open up European Defence Fund projects to the Republic of Moldova to enhance defence cooperation and innovation;
18. Calls for the EU and its Member States to consolidate the EU Support Hub for Internal Security and Border Management in Moldova, which will coordinate the support that the EU and its Member States provide to Moldova to strengthen law enforcement and thus also better deal with the criminal and security implications of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;
19. Recalls that following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, Moldova hosts approximately 110 000 refugees, accounting for over 4.5 % of the country’s total population, which is one of the highest shares of Ukrainian refugees per capita; reiterates that the Moldovan authorities need further financial and technical assistance from the EU in order to cope with this refugee influx and guarantee that their basic needs are met;
20. Reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to continue to help the Republic of Moldova to ensure its energy independence, including by increasing its generating capacity, connectivity, diversification and energy efficiency; urges the EU to use emergency funding to enhance the connection of the Republic of Moldova to the EU’s electricity grid, through projects such as the Bălți-Suceava interconnection;
21. Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase their support for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Republic of Moldova’s transport infrastructure, including by laying a European-gauge track connection from Chișinău to Iași (Romania), as a way of supporting the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes and Moldova and Ukraine’s economies;
22. Given the Republic of Moldova’s challenges and candidate country status, reiterates its call on the Commission to further increase its staff capacity to deal with and support the country’s accession process, both in Brussels and in Chișinău;
23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Government and Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.