EU Enlargement conclusions: ‘Moldova should continue advancing on its comprehensive justice reform’

The General Affairs Council has reiterated the EU’s steadfast support for Moldova and its EU accession path, and commended Moldova’s commitment to the EU reform process in its enlargement conclusions, adopted on 17 December.

On the fundamentals, the Council highlighted the importance of continued reform progress in Moldova, notably in the areas of the rule of law and fundamental rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.

“Building on the significant progress made, Moldova should continue advancing on its comprehensive justice reform, including the vetting process, as well as advancing the fight against corruption, focusing on strengthening relevant institutions and building further a solid track record of investigations and convictions, including on high-level corruption cases,” the conclusions say. “The Council welcomes Moldova’s systemic approach to de-oligarchisation and encourages the continued implementation of the related action plan.”

The Council welcomed Moldova’s steady progress to enhance its energy security and independence of supply and said the EU stands ready to continue providing support to this sector. “Moldova needs to further accelerate infrastructure projects related to electricity interconnections in order to reduce structural vulnerabilities,” the document says.

On the economic criteria, the Council highlighted the importance of continuing transformative economic reforms, sectoral cooperation and further integration in the EU internal market, on the basis of enhanced implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.

The Council also positively noted Moldova’s sustained efforts to strengthen its public administration and public finance management framework. “The administrative and institutional capacity needs to be strengthened at all levels. The systemic engagement with civil society on reforms should continue,” the document says.

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Conclusions

Moldova 2024 Enlargement Package Factsheet