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having regard to its recent resolutions on the Republic of Moldova,

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having regard to the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part (1), which includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (AA/DCFTA),

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having regard to the Republic of Moldova’s application for EU membership of 3 March 2022, and the European Council’s consequent granting of candidate status on 23 June 2022 based on a positive assessment by the Commission and in line with the views expressed by Parliament,

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having regard to the Commission opinion of 17 June 2022 on the Republic of Moldova’s application for membership of the European Union (COM(2022)0406) and the joint staff working document of 6 February 2023 entitled ‘Association Implementation Report on the Republic of Moldova’ (SWD(2023)0041);

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having regard to the Commission analytical report of 1 February 2023 on Moldova’s alignment with the EU acquis (SWD(2023)0032),

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having regard to the joint statement following the seventh meeting of the EU-Moldova Association Council of 7 February 2023 and to the final statement of the 13th meeting of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee of 23 March 2023,

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having regard to Articles 2 and 49 of the Treaty on European Union,

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having regard to the European Council conclusions of 23 and 24 June 2022, 23 March 2023 and 29 and 30 June 2023,

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having regard to the updated EU-Moldova Association Agenda for 2021-2027 of 22 August 2022 and to the Support Package for the Republic of Moldova presented by the Commission on 28 June 2023,

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having regard to Rule 132(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas the Republic of Moldova submitted its application to join the EU on 3 March 2022 and has been an EU candidate country since 23 June 2022;

B.

whereas EU-Moldova relations have intensified since then, based on a mutual commitment to strengthening their political association; whereas the Council conclusions of 13 December 2022 on enlargement and stabilisation and association process put emphasis on further deepening the EU’s sectoral cooperation with Moldova and its integration into the EU internal market;

C.

whereas the Government of the Republic of Moldova has been pursuing an ambitious political, judicial and institutional reform process and has demonstrated its determination and ability to fulfil the nine steps identified in the Commission opinion to meet the conditions set for the opening of accession negotiations; whereas EU accession remains a merit-based process that requires fulfilment of the EU membership criteria;

D.

whereas on 22 June 2023, the Commission provided an oral update to the Council on Moldova’s progress and a more detailed review will form part of the 2023 Enlargement Package reports on the 10 enlargement countries; whereas the Commission, in its oral update provided to the Council in June, as requested by the EU Member States, assessed that three steps had been fulfilled (2, 8 and 9) and that there had been significant progress on three other steps (1, 4, 7);

E.

whereas the Republic of Moldova has been making tremendous efforts and significant progress in implementing all the conditions laid out by the Commission, namely by addressing the shortcomings identified by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Venice Commission on the judicial reform and the reform of the electoral code, by increasing the involvement of civil society in decision-making processes, strengthening the protection of human rights, particularly of vulnerable groups, enhancing gender equality and combating violence against women; whereas the upcoming Commission assessment on the progress made by the Republic of Moldova will send a clear political message and have a significant impact on the country’s future;

F.

whereas the EU-Moldova Priority Action Plan was also agreed on in June 2023 and will function as a roadmap for the full implementation of the EU-Moldova DCFTA and Moldova’s further integration into the EU single market, with jointly agreed priorities for 2023-2024; whereas on 28 June 2023, the Commission presented the Support Package for the Republic of Moldova, which addresses the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and aims to bring Moldova closer to the EU;

G.

whereas despite the dramatic effects of the war on Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova has managed to significantly consolidate its democracy and maintain the reform trajectory; whereas the improvements in the country’s democratic system have been reflected in its progress on various international indexes: 28th place out of 180 countries in the 2023 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index (up from 40th place in 2022); 91st place out of 180 countries in the 2022 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (up from 105th place in 2021); 68th place out of 140 countries in the World Justice Project’s 2022 Rule of Law Index (up from 73rd place in 2021);

H.

whereas the Russian Federation has been using provocation, disinformation, illegal funding of political parties, cyberattacks and other hybrid means to undermine the stability, sovereignty, constitutional order and democratic institutions of the Republic of Moldova; whereas Russia’s subversive activities in Moldova seek to undermine popular support for the European path chosen by the Moldovan people and foster destabilisation; whereas Russia has used its gas exports as a tool to pressure the Moldovan Government, including as regards its pro-European orientation; whereas Russia’s weaponisation of energy has further exposed the fragility of the Moldovan energy sector, while the country’s connections to the EU gas and electricity market and mechanisms have helped it to tackle the crisis; whereas high energy prices led to inflation rising to over 30 % and Moldova’s economic output fell by 5,9 % year-on-year in real terms in 2022; whereas although the Republic of Moldova has diversified its natural gas supplies away from Russia, its electricity supply remains largely dependent on the Russian-owned Cuciurgan power station in the Transnistria region; whereas, despite all these attempts at destabilisation, the Moldovan people and the Moldovan leadership have remained determined to follow their chosen pro-European path;

I.

whereas Russian missiles targeting Ukraine have flown over the Republic of Moldova’s territory on several occasions, in clear violation of Moldova’s sovereignty, and on several occasions Russian missile debris has fallen on Moldovan territory, causing damage and endangering the lives of civilians; whereas Moldova’s air surveillance and defence is in urgent need of investment and modernisation and the Moldovan Government has asked its Western partners for air-defence systems;

J.

whereas on 20 July 2023, the EU granted another one-year extension, until 24 July 2024, of its temporary suspension of tariffs and entry-price systems still applicable to seven Moldovan agricultural products;

K.

whereas on 24 April 2023, the EU set up the Partnership Mission in Moldova under the common security and defence policy, with the objective of enhancing the security sector’s resilience in the areas of crisis management, hybrid threats and countering foreign information manipulation and interference;

L.

whereas on 18 September 2023, Moldova joined the EU Civil Protection Mechanism as a participating state;