MEP Victor Negrescu: “Moldova is at its best moment, facing an important test”
The Republic of Moldova is currently enjoying a favorable reputation in the Western world, and it would be beneficial to leverage this moment to speed up the process of joining the European Union. This suggestion comes from Victor Negrescu, the Vice President of the European Parliament, who oversees relations with the Republic of Moldova.
Republic of Moldova – high expectations
In an interview with Veronica Scorpan for the show “We and Europe”, on Radio Moldova, Victor Negrescu stressed that expectations regarding the country’s European path are high.
“With the right initiatives, with a serious project, the Republic of Moldova can become the Luxembourg of Eastern Europe”, the MEP mentioned.
According to Negrescu, the government in Chisinau should take advantage of the favorable political context to come up with an economic development plan that will bring well-being to the population. Reforms must continue, especially in the justice sector and in combating corruption.
"We have seen the example of Romania, which has had, for many years, the cooperation and verification mechanism. Such a situation must be avoided in the Republic of Moldova. And this situation can only be avoided if these reforms are made now," said the Vice-President of the European Parliament, responsible for relations with the Republic of Moldova.
The test of capitalizing on the 1.9 billion euros
As the coordinator of transparency policies and the fight against corruption in the European Parliament, Victor Negrescu stated that an important test for the authorities in Chisinau will be how European resources are used, especially allocations through the Moldova Growth Plan, worth 1.9 billion euros.
"If this test is passed with flying colors and there are no syncopes, problems or suspicions, then the Republic of Moldova will pass more easily, including through the negotiations regarding this important chapter," said the Romanian MEP.
Regarding cooperation in the security sector and combating hybrid threats and disinformation risks, Victor Negrescu highlighted that support will increase as the Republic of Moldova moves closer to integration into the European Union.
"Being a member state of the European Union means peace, it means stability, it means security, it means prospects for your children, for your business, for your community. And in this sense, the European Union already provides financial support to the Republic of Moldova, whether through the peace instrument or other funding to combat disinformation. There are many initiatives", pointed out the Vice President of the European Parliament.
25 million euros more for the Eastern Partnership
In the same context, Victor Negrescu recalled that the European Parliament requested an increase of 25 million euros in the 2026 budget for the Eastern Partnership, of which the Republic of Moldova is also a part, in addition to what the EU Council supports.
"So that, through those funds, we can compensate for the reduction, for example, of the funding that came through USAID. I know that there were several specific projects to combat disinformation, previously financed through that American program, and now we would finance them through European financial programming", Negrescu said.
At the same time, through the way it fought hybrid interference in this year's parliamentary elections, the Republic of Moldova has demonstrated that it is capable of protecting itself, the MEP said. And as Chisinau wants to collaborate more with Europe on the defense and security components, new opportunities will arise.
"I know that now the Republic of Moldova wants to be part of the logistics chains for the development of the European defense industry. This was also mentioned in Bucharest. Romania is thinking about how it can do this and I am convinced that opportunities will arise that will also create jobs in the Republic of Moldova on this defense industry component", concluded Victor Negrescu.
The European Commission is to evaluate, in November, the reforms carried out in the last year by the candidate states for accession to the European Union, including the Republic of Moldova.
