Moldova will be able to count on Belgium’s expertise and support during its candidacy for EU membership, Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib said on Wednesday during a visit to the capital Chisinau.
In the week following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the small eastern European republic applied to join the European Union. The chief of Belgian foreign affairs delivered a double-edged message to her counterpart Nicu Popescu.
"Moldova has its place in the European family and the EU is committed to giving it the prospect of membership, but at the same time, the whole accession process is subject to strict conditions. There can be no question of shortcuts," stressed Lahbib. "This strict conditionality is necessary to prevent the EU from weakening and to preserve the Union’s internal legitimacy."
Belgium is nevertheless keen to help Moldova, particularly in transposing EU rules into domestic legislation. A Moldovan delegation is expected in Brussels in October to benefit from Belgian expertise.
Entry into the bloc is conditional on the full incorporation of the EU acquis – the accumulated legislation, legal acts and court decisions that constitute the body of European Union law that came into being in 1993.
Belgian support has also been demonstrated by the opening of a new Belgian embassy in Chisinau, which should be operational by 1 January 2024, when Belgium takes over the rotating presidency of the EU.
However, the Belgian and Moldovan ministers already symbolically cut the ribbon on the future delegation on Wednesday.
