The Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova Peter Michalko and the team of EU High Level Advisers held a first working meeting with President Maia Sandu and her cabinet today, 6 February. The main topic on the agenda was the state of play in the sectors of EU HLAs’ intervention and the priorities for cooperation in this respect.

EU Ambassador Peter Michalko mentioned: “The EU High level advisers represent a valuable component of EU support provided to the country, and we hope that the President’s office will also benefit from their expertise. We encourage the inclusion of multiple stakeholders in the policy dialogue, to facilitate wide support and its effective implementation.”

President Sandu stated that ‘the European Union via this project supports our institutions building their capacities and contributing to the implementation of reforms. At the same time, we have agreed to maintain an active dialogue for a consolidated approach of sector issues,’ concluded Maia Sandu.

In their turn, the EU High Level Advisers currently operational in the Republic of Moldova – in the sectors of Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery, Anticorruption, Confidence Building Measures, Education and Research, Energy, Financial Services, Justice and Prosecution, Local Public Administration Reform – listed the key aspects to be taken into consideration in their respective areas, as well as suggestions for necessary actions to accelerate reforms.

The meeting took place in the context of the current elaboration of the EU Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2021-2027 for the Republic of Moldova, representing the main programming document outlining sector development priorities for the following seven years. The EU MIP formulation mission took place earlier this week, following the official visit of President Sandu to Brussels where she met with the highest EU representatives.