Moldova relies on Denmark's support n European integration process

Chisinau, 26 November /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova relies on the support of Denmark in the European integration process, given that this country will take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union as of 1 July 2025. Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov made statements to this effect at a today’s news conference held jointly with Minister for European Affairs of Denmark Marie Bjerre, on a visit to Moldova.    

Cristina Gherasimov appreciated the relations between the two states, highlighting the constant support provided to Moldova by Denmark, including the opening of a diplomatic mission of Denmark in Moldova this year. The Moldovan deputy PM said that she had discussed with the Danish official the European integration agenda of Moldova, noting that Denmark might serve as a model for the country.   

„The European integration and our agenda of accession is one of the key subjects which I discussed with Mrs. Minister Bjerre. I noted that the deep reforms which we have carried out in the last years stay priority and this not only in the context of our accession to EU. First of all, a sound justice system and democratic institutions are for the benefit of our entire society. We do these reforms for this. Also, the ensuring of the economic growth and of the energy security, rehabilitation of the local infrastructure and of the health sector or the modernization of the education will improve the living of our citizens and will provide everybody with better opportunities of professional and personal development. This, in parallel with the concerted effort of hundreds of civil servants from dozens of institutions, in order to ensure the pace and quality of the process of bilateral screening which we have at present,’’ Cristina Gherasimov said.   

The Moldovan deputy PM voiced hope that Moldova, supported by Denmark, would benefit from the openness of the European Union member states, in order to have access to more European programmes. ‘’We hope to benefit, in continuation, from the openness of the member states, as well as from the support of the Danish presidency. We want, at the same time, in 2025, to have more access to programmes, which are presently opened only for the EU member states. We will carry out, in this way, the gradual integration into EU, as well as will provide benefits for the citizens and the economic agents from our country. It is important that we include in the EU’s scheme for the schools’ supply with fruits, vegetables, bananas and milk. We will make effort to do this,’’ Gherasimov noted.     

At the same time, Cristina Gherasimov gave assurances that the Moldovan authorities would continue to develop an efficient relation with Denmark, which will be felt by the citizens, as well as by the business environment. The official appreciated the ‘’valuable’’ support and assistance of Denmark for the consolidation of Moldova’s resilience against the hybrid threats and spoke out for the continuation of the EU partnership mission in Moldova.      

„This year, Denmark committed to support our country with projects worth over 9 million euros, which deal with the consolidation of the electoral processes, strategic communication and combating the misinformation, energy efficiency and development of the security capacities. This is a valuable support, in order to cope with these challenges. We appreciate the contribution of Danish experts to the EU partnership mission in Moldova, a mission which contributes to the consolidation of our resilience against the hybrid threats, including the cyber security and combating the manipulation and information interference from abroad. On this occasion, I told the minister that we would like the prolongation of the EU partnership mission, given the difficult context of the national and regional security,’’ Cristina Gherasimov said.    

Minister for European Affairs of Denmark Marie Bjerre showed impressed by the pace and sustained efforts made by the Moldovan authorities, in order to advance on the European integration path. ‘’Denmark supports the European integration way of Moldova towards the capacity of EU member. It is impressive, Moldova became country candidate two years and a half ago and you have had a huge distance covered, in a very, very short period and this is showed also in the most recent European Commission’s enlargement report. We expect this process to end as quick as possible and we can start the negotiations in different chapters and on different clusters,’’ the Danish minister said.    

Being an EU member since 1973, with a population and an area comparable with Moldova, Denmark turned to good account the economic and development opportunities provided by the capacity of member country of the European Union. Presently, Denmark ranks third in Europe in terms of the Gross Domestic Product  (GDP) per head. Starting from 2024, Denmark opened an embassy in Moldova.