CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2023) Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said he had discussed regional security issues and the prospect of Moldova's accession to the EU with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno.
Popescu is in Madrid on his Spanish counterpart's invitation. Spain will be the EU Council's president in the second half of 2023.
"This visit is important both in bilateral terms and in the process of European integration for Moldova. We discussed the European future of our country, as well as regional security. I reported to my Spanish counterpart on the progress of Chisinau in the context of fulfilling the conditions set by the European Commission to be able to start accession talks," Popescu said at a press conference in Madrid, a video of which he posted on Telegram.
Earlier, the Moldovan deputy prime minister said his country expects to complete most of the reforms necessary for European integration by 2030. Popescu added that the process of becoming a full-fledged member of the EU, which includes accession to the euro zone and Schengen, will take Moldova 25-30 years.
The EU heads of state and government at the summit in Brussels on June 23 last year granted the status of candidates for joining the EU to Ukraine and Moldova. In October 2022, Moldova hosted the first meeting of the Commission on European Integration, which discussed the need for reforms in various areas and called for the creation of 35 working groups to amend local legislation in line with European standards.
