Moldovan President Maia Sandu called on the European Parliament to support her country’s aspiration to join the European Union, noting that “Moldova belongs to the EU”.

During her speech to the European Parliament, President Sandu called on EU countries to support Moldova in achieving its European aspirations, as the country formally applied for EU membership in March 2022, reports SchengenVisaInfo. com.

“We are aware that political decisions at EU level have to be taken. We are also aware that these are not easy decisions. But granting Moldova candidate status is the right decision. We belong to the European Union,” she says.

She also highlighted how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has affected Moldova, which is a neighboring country in the war zone.

As President Sandu said, Moldova’s population grew by 4% in two weeks, as nearly half a million Ukrainians crossed the border, of whom some 90,000 remained in Moldova. She further notes that half of the new arrivals are children, bringing the total number of children in Moldova to 10%.

In her address to MEPs in Brussels, the Moldovan President condemned the Russian aggression and expressed her support for the Ukrainians.

“We support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as we always have. Crimea is Ukraine. The Donbass is Ukraine. Kyiv is Ukraine. And they always will be.” she says.

Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine have applied to become EU members, despite the ongoing war. In response to this, at a meeting of COREPER, which represents the permanent members of each member state, the EU agreed to consider these applications.

On February 28, which was the fourth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced via his official social media that he had signed the application for EU membership.

However, the decision to consider these applications has been criticized, with some calling for the speeding up of procedures.

“The process is long and complex, and the last step requires the approval of all 27 member states. What are they waiting for until Russia attacks another country? The decision must be taken immediately, it concerns the lives of millions of people and the sustainability of Europe. said Twitter following the statement by the French Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Currently, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Turkey and Serbia are candidate countries for European Union membership, while Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina are potential candidates. .

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