A spectacular summit, in that it has no precedent, takes place on Thursday in the Republic of Moldova. NATO defends the country’s skies during the event in which the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is also participating, among the almost 50 European leaders who have announced their presence, to demonstrate their support for this country.
Summit in the Republic of Moldova
The program of the unprecedented summit in the Republic of Moldova, the second meeting of the European Political Community, created at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, includes a plenary session, with the participation of all delegations, and working groups, which will take place in parallel and in within which topics related to security, energy and connectivity will be debated.
The summit takes place with the participation of the 27 member states of the EU bloc and 20 other European countries at a castle in the heart of the Moldovan wine region, Mimi Castle in the Anenii Noi district.
47 heads of state or government, the president of the European Council, the president of the European Commission and the president of the European Parliament announced their presence at the event. The focus will be on a symbolic demonstration of unity, in the context in which the Chisinau government has accused Moscow of trying to destabilize this predominantly Romanian-speaking country, using its influence over the separatist movement in Transnistria, predominantly Russian-speaking.
The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will support an intervention in the plenary session and will participate in the working group on security.
Chisinau’s objectives during the summit
During this summit, Chisinau intends to present its reforms and convince the European leaders to open the accession negotiations to the European Union as soon as possible.
“For us, the presence of 50 leaders in the Republic of Moldova is a milestone, it is the biggest foreign policy event that Moldova has ever hosted.
It is our way of anchoring our future in Europe and the EU. It’s our way of speeding up the EU accession process”, said Olga Roşca, the advisor on foreign policy issues to President Maia Sandu.
The adviser specified that Chisinau’s objective is to make a decision at the European Council in December, so that accession negotiations can start from 2024.
The sky of the Republic of Moldova, defended by NATO during the summit
The sky of the Republic of Moldova is defended by NATO during the summit. Alliance Air Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveillance aircraft are monitoring the skies above the summit venue until Friday
“NATO AWACS can detect planes, missiles and drones hundreds of kilometers away, which makes them an important early warning capability,” said NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu.
Since the Russian leader Vladimir Putin started the war in Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, until now, missile remnants have been found several times on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
