Welcoming President Sandu, European Parliament President, Roberta Metsola said, “we are all deeply impressed by your determination, courage and steadfast commitment to Moldova’s people, and your tireless work on steering Moldova on the path of democracy. We stand united in our support for Moldova and its democratic path to European Union membership.”

In her speech, President Sandu said that the upcoming parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova on 28 September would be the most consequential in its history and that the outcome would decide “whether we consolidate as a stable democracy” or (…) whether “Russia pulls us away from Europe” – turning Moldova into a threat on Europe’s eastern frontier. She outlined that Moldova’s lesson, and its warning, is that “if our democracy cannot be protected, then no democracy in Europe is safe.”

She then turned to the EU accession process, highlighting that many current EU countries were not complete…