Foreign Policy Association together with Friedrich­Ebert-Stiftung offer you a newsletter on foreign policy and European integration issues of the Republic of Moldova. The newsletter is part of the “Foreign Policy Dialogue” joint Project. NEWSLETTER MONTHLY BULLETIN JUNE 2024 NR. 6(220) Synthesis and Foreign Policy NNTheeewwnsselleewttttseelrre--tuutell reessistteedrreeevaaellliiozzpaaettdddeebyMMMăăddăăădllăiinnlinNNNeecceșșcuușțțuuuț,,urr,eeedddaaitccottoor-rrc--occooooordrrddinooanntaaottroorr Debates TOPICS OF THE EDITION: 1. Dragoș Tudorache, former MEP: Moldova must dare to come up with solutions and proposals as creative as possible in its negotiations’ approach with the EU 2. Mădălin Necșuțu, jurnalist TVR Moldova: Why are the European parliamentary elections a test for Moldova’s future? 3. Report by Madalin Necsutu: „We can contribute to maintaining stability and competitiveness in the European Union”. 4. Mihai Isac, political analyst: European Parliament 2024: Is the European integration of the Republic of Moldova threatened? News in Brief The EU officially launched, on June 25, in Luxembourg, the accession negotiations with the Republic of Moldova, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Hadja Lahbib. For his part, Prime Minister Dorin Recean announced this in a post on Facebook, noting that the negotiations started by the Republic of Moldova are a real success and that our country will make every effort to become a member state of the EU.“Today we have entered a new stage, which brings us significantly closer to joining the European Union. Today’s Republic of Moldova- EU Intergovernmental Conference sets the official start of accession negotiations and demonstrates that we have the ability to build, until 2030, a prosperous state, a European state,” wrote Prime Minister Dorin Recean. The Republic of Moldova officially submitted its application to join the European Union on 3 March 2022. On June 23, the Republic of Moldova received the candidate country status, and on 25 June 204, the accession negotiations officially began. The Council for the Promotion of Investment Projects of National Importance decided to withdraw the permissive documents for television broadcast and audiovisual services of the SRL “Media Resource” company, the founder of the Orhei TV and TV6 stations, affiliated to the fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor. According to the authorities, at the moment“Media Resource” SRL is subject to a ban by a judicial executor and a ban on the alienation of the social part applied by order of the State Tax Service. Previously, the permissive documents were withdrawn from the companies“Telesistem TV” SRL (Primul in Moldova, Accent TV),“Archidoc Group” SRL(Orizont TV) and“Telestar Media” SRL(Channel 2 and Channel 3), the last two being affiliated to the oligarch fugitive Vladimir Plahotniuc. The Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, Oleg Serebrian, met on June 25 with Thomas Lenk, head of the Section for Ukraine, Moldova and Black Sea Cooperation within the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany. During the meeting, the current situation of the Transnistrian settlement process was discussed, with an exchange of views regarding the interactions between Chisinau and Tiraspol within the existing dialogue formats and the priorities of the Moldovan authorities in the field of the reintegration policies of the Republic of Moldova. Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Serebrian thanked the German official for the fruitful cooperation in various spheres of common interest, including the Transnistrian issue, evoking the satisfaction for maintaining bilateral relations at a high level and their advancement, including in the perspective of Moldova’s commitment towards the strategic objective of European integration. The Republic of Moldova at the moment of truth: elections, reforms and negotiations with the EU The Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean together with the head of the Belgian diplomacy Nadja Lahbib and the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi in the press conference on June 25 in Luxemburg. Foto: Moldovan Government facebook. The Republic of Moldova is facing a historic moment in its path to EU integration, however there are still challenges that Moldova must manage very carefully. On June 25, the Belgian presidency of the European Union convened the intergovernmental conference with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine which officially opened the next stage of negotiations, the one on accession chapters between these candidate countries and the EU. The moment was specially chosen as the last exercise of the current rotating presidency of the European Council held by Belgium, but also at the end of the mandate of the current composition of the European Commission, which fully supports the two countries on their way to join the EU. Last but not least, this exercise took place before Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the EU in the second half of this year, a country that Monthly newsletter, No.6(220), June 2024 111 Bucuresti St., Chisinau, MD-2012, Republic of Moldova, Tel.+373 855830 Website: moldova.fes.de. E-mail: fes.moldova@fes.de