The president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, stated that the nation hopes to become a member of the European Union (EU) by 2030.
“My wishes are very ambitious. I think we must become members of the European Union by the end of this decade,” Sandu said, as quoted by Reuters.
According to the president, during the three meetings of the Support for Moldova group that was hosted by Romania, Germany, and France in 2022, the nation was able to secure over 400 million euros ($425 million) from partner nations and another 1 billion euros for projects that would be developed in the ensuing years.
“We saw how important external support was in this very difficult year, as we managed to add more than 400 million euros to the state budget so that we can face the refugee and energy crisis. Part of these funds is used to compensate for high gas and electricity bills for vulnerable consumers,” she added.
Last month, over 45 nations and institutions gathered in Paris to donate millions of euros in help for Moldova as concerns grow that the country might become even more unstable as a result of the crisis in Ukraine.
Following Russia’s halving of Moldova’s natural gas supply earlier in November, the European Union promised to provide 250 million euros (about $260 million) in aid, The Associated Press reported.
Moldova, which depends heavily on Russian energy supplies, is having greater problems now that winter has arrived and Moscow has reduced natural gas supplies by approximately 40%, making it harder for it to provide enough electricity to its population, Reuters reported.
The European Council resolved to give Ukraine and Moldova the status of EU candidates in June. Following the February commencement of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia submitted applications for membership in the EU.
