Conclusions of the 2nd edition of the Ministerial Conference of the Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova

The Republic of Moldova must not be and will not be alone in the effort to carry out the reforms it needs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, said on Friday, at the end of the 2nd edition of the Ministerial Conference of the Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova.According to the head of Romanian diplomacy, this platform is a "permanent tool" and is useful for Chisinau's efforts to join the European Union.The conference generated financial commitments, in various forms, to support the Republic of Moldova with approximately 600 million euros.   Participants in the second edition of the ministerial conference of the Support Platform for Moldova called for an end to the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Friday."We are all affected by this war and we must never forget that it has to stop. We have to continue to call on the Russian Federation to end this unjustified, unprovoked, illegitimate war of aggression against Ukraine that is hurting Ukraine, hurting the region, Europe, the whole world and, last but not least, is hurting Russia itself. Therefore, our call here in Bucharest today was the war has to stop as soon as possible," Aurescu told a news conference at the end of the meeting.Germany supports Ukraine financially, economically, energetically, but also militarily, said Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and announced an additional grant for the country, worth up to 77 million euros. She co-chaired the meeting in Bucharest with Bogdan Aurescu and France's Secretary of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships Chrysoula Zacharopoulou."We need support on all fronts. As I've said, if it's a hybrid war, then the answer has also to be hybrid, in different dimensions. So, we are not only supporting Moldova, but also Ukraine financially, with regard to economic support, with regard to energy support, but also with regard for example, with demining, because, as we have heard in the last weeks one of the problems is the mines all around the country, especially in cities and villages which have been freed again. The mines are still there. So, we are supporting Ukraine on different dimensions, but obviously also military-wide and we are in permanent discussion within the German government but also within our partners to provide more military assistance (...) We will provide Ukraine with the most advanced air defence system we can get, which is coming quite soon, but we are also looking in different parts with regard to further support of also armoured vehicles," she said.   The event on Friday in Bucharest brought together delegates from 33 states, members of the European Union, the G7, the European Free Trade Association, international organizations, financial institutions, European institutions and UN agencies, Aurescu said at the end of the meeting.He underscored that granting the status of EU candidate country to the Republic of Moldova is "a historic decision, which effectively launches the process of European integration.""This support platform becomes an efficient, concrete tool for carrying out the necessary reforms in this regard. As we know from our own experience, the accession process is very complex, and it involves the implementation of comprehensive reforms," he added.Aurescu pointed out that the current context is a difficult one, in the context of the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, which generates ample negative effects on the Republic of Moldova as well. "We are talking first of all about a humanitarian crisis generated by the flow of refugees, for the management of which the Republic of Moldova earmarks important financial resources," the minister pointed out. At the same time, he added, security threats appear on this background."If we look at what has happened recently in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, we have seen some attempts to instrumentalize the current context, fortunately unsuccessful," Bogdan Aurescu said.The Minister of Labour of the Republic of Moldova, Marcel Spatari, spoke at the press conference about the challenges facing his country. "In this context, I am glad to note that the Republic of Moldova is not alone," he said.According to Spatari, the assistance provided through the platform will help Chisinau overcome the effects of the war and will help the government protect the most vulnerable groups."Let me emphasize that a stable and resilient Republic of Moldova is important for the Ukrainian partners, with whom we stand in solidarity," he added. He recalled that the Republic of Moldova hosts 70,000 refugees, but also made efforts to establish alternative transit routes for commercial goods in Ukraine.   În turn, German Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock told a press conference in Bucharest, at the end of the second edition of the Ministerial Conference of the Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova, that the energy question is a core security question."Energy prices go up in every country, they triple in many countries. But it makes a difference if 2 percent of the households incomes energy prices triples. This is also hard for many European countries. But if the households are paying already 15 percent of their household income to energy and then it triples, it actually is hard to bear. This is why today we underlined again that the question of energy is a core security question and this is why we're targeting directly at this support," Annalena Baerbock said.In respect to the perspective of a possible energy crisis, she added that "everybody is preparing for their own societies and countries, but, most importantly, we are preparing together as EU 27.""This strong commitment of the European Commission also regards energy supply and is crucial for the winter. I mean the only good thing about the climate crisis is that, yes, we are facing big challenges, maybe the most difficult challenges since the end of the Second World War, but with regard to temperatures we also know that probably we won't have three months of minus 20 degrees all over Europe. Having said this we have to prepare for all scenarios, also for the worst case scenarios, because being prepared is better than not being prepared," she said.She further gave Germany's example, which did not only prolong the coal power plants functioning for three months, "because this is also a question of security," but it set up a most radical law on renewable energy. "This is also a side effect of the Russian war. I don't think that this was one of the goals by the Russian President to boost renewable energy, but we have a renewable energy law for windmills and solars obligations on new houses."The German Minister for Foreign Affairs also spoke of the future North Stream I."We have to consider also what's going to happen with North Stream I, therefore we're having different aspects on how we can transfer gas altogether within the European Union, we're preparing for LNG platforms also from outside the European Union and we will, I underline this again, stand in solidarity altogether within the European Union, that we make clear that it is not the poorest suffering the most," Annalena Baerbock said, adding that "we take this challenge in solidarity, unity as the European Union was founded for.