Parliament hails the Moldovan government’s steady progress on EU-related reforms despite significant internal and external challenges, not least persistent hostile Russian interference in the country’s internal affairs. MEPs welcome the opening of accession negotiations on the ”fundamentals cluster”, which includes the judiciary and fundamental rights, freedom and security, and financial control. They urge EU member states in the Council to open all negotiation clusters without further delay – in line with the merit-based approach. They also emphasise that opening formal EU accession negotiations with Moldova signals that the EU recognises and rewards the country’s concrete achievements, saying any negotiation process should not be blocked or delayed on account of bilateral issues.

Justice sector reform, fight against corruption

The report notes the European Commission’s assessment that Moldova has made good progress in reforming the country’s justice sector and in…