EP delegation visits of the Palanca border crossing point. A European Parliament delegation, which travelled to the Republic of Moldova against the backdrop of a worsening security situation in Europe, completed its visit on Saturday.
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In Chișinău, seven members from the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and Subcommittee on Security and Defence met with Moldova’s top political leadership, including President Maia Sandu, Speaker of the Parliament Igor Grosu, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița, and Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatîi.
During their visit from 31 March to 2 April, MEPs praised the generosity of the Moldovan people for hosting large numbers of Ukrainian refugees. They called on the EU to continue scaling up its efforts to support Moldova in providing shelter and help for the large number of refugees fleeing from the Russian aggression.
In their exchanges, MEPs addressed possible repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on neighbouring countries like Moldova. They also discussed a variety of other related risks currently facing the country, especially in the energy and cyber security spheres, and underlined the need for the EU to assist Moldova in increasing its energy security arrangements and resilience to hybrid threats, in particular cyber attacks and disinformation.
With regard to Moldova’s recent formal application to join the European Union, Members voiced support for the pro-European government and its chosen reform-path to bring the country closer to the EU.
The delegation visited Palanca, a village on the border with Ukraine and host centre for Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression. At the border, Members were briefed by Moldovan border authorities on the humanitarian situation for refugees in the area and border management practices, and exchanged views with representatives of the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) and the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
“The EU should stand in solidarity with Moldova in these difficult times. Both when it comes to providing help to refugees in the country and strengthening its resilience against Russian cyber and disinformation attacks, the EU must support Moldova,” said MEP Nathalie Loiseau.
