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Prime Minister Tuppurainen in Moldova: we will support the EU candidate country on its path to EU membership

Government Communications Department
Publication date 18.1.2023 20.21 | Published in English on 19.1.2023 at 11.19
Press release
From left to right: with Romanian State Secretary for European Affairs Daniela Gitman, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița and Minister Tytti Tuppurainen
From left to right: with Romanian State Secretary for European Affairs Daniela Gitman, Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița and Minister Tytti Tuppurainen

Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen visited the Moldovan capital of Chișinău on Wednesday 18 January. The discussions in several high-level meetings focused on Moldova’s EU membership process, the effects of Russia’s war of aggression, securing access to energy and the situation in Transnistria.

During the day, Minister Tuppurainen met with Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu and Minister for Foreign Affairs Nicu Popescu.

In June 2022, the European Council granted both Moldova and Ukraine the status of EU candidate country. Minister Tuppurainen is satisfied with Moldova’s commitment to implementing the necessary reforms. Support for the two countries in implementing the reforms required for the membership process will play a key role as they move towards EU membership.

“Implementing the reforms required for EU membership, and especially strengthening the rule of law and combating corruption, are important parts of the process. We will support Moldova in this process and we hope it is successful,” Minister Tuppurainen says.

The discussions also focused on the impacts Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Moldova has received the largest number of fleeing the war in Ukraine in relation to its population. In addition, the discussions addressed the wider global impacts of the war, such as the energy crisis and weakened global food security. Russia is also trying to fracture the unity of countries that support Ukraine through its continuous disinformation campaign.

Other topics on the agenda included securing the availability of energy and the situation in the Transnistria region. Russia is using energy as a political blackmailing tool against Moldova’s pro-EU and pro-Western government. Minister Tuppurainen said that the EU would continue to support Moldova’s energy sector and efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

Minister Tuppurainen travelled to Moldova together with Romanian State Secretary for European Affairs Daniela Gitman. Minister Tuppurainen and State Secretary Gitman are colleagues on the EU General Affairs Council, which deals with issues of EU enlargement and the rule of law as part of its established agenda.

Inquiries: Emilia Tervonen, Special Adviser, tel. +358 50 516 1035 and Satu Keskinen, State Under-Secretary for EU Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 302, Prime Minister’s Office