“Moldova is successfully continuing its reform path. Tangible progress has already been made in a number of areas, including reforming the judiciary and fighting corruption. The result is also illustrated by the fact that last December the leaders of the European Union decided to start accession negotiations with Moldova,” said Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima head of the Latvian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, on Friday, 17 May, in the meeting of the PACE Monitoring Committee in held in Paris, France.

Kalniņa-Lukaševica was elected President of the Monitoring Committee in March this year, becoming the first Latvian to be entrusted with the management of the Committee. The Committee is responsible for assessing compliance with the obligations entered into by the Member States and their institutions under the Charter of the Council of Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights and other conventions concluded within the organisation to which they are parties.

The Monitoring Committee meeting on Friday approved the report on Moldova by Kalniņa-Lukaševica and the Swiss PACE representative Pierre-Alain Fridez. It summarises the information gathered during the Monitoring Committee’s evaluation visit to Moldova on the fulfilment of the country’s commitments.

The report emphasises that reforms must continue and be irreversible, with concrete, visible results. As emphasised by Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Moldova has been able to implement a number of important reforms in a short period of time, and future reforms must also be inclusive and transparent so that they are sustainable and bring the country closer to membership of the European Union. At the same time, the report also states that external forces aimed at preventing Moldova’s euro-integration process are trying to influence the Moldovan public, especially in the run-up to the upcoming elections.

On 17 May, Kalniņa-Lukaševica is in Paris, France, where she participates in a meeting of the PACE Monitoring Committee. PACE is one of the Council of Europe’s largest and most visible institutions. It brings together 306 permanent representatives and 306 substitute representatives from 46 member states of the Council of Europe. In the Assembly, the countries are represented by members of national parliaments.

Saeima Press Service