Slovakian PM says Slovakia's EU membership brings more resources, much progress

Chisinau, 10 September /MOLDPRES/ - The fact that Slovakia is member of the European Union has brought many resources and much progress to our country and I hope that Moldova will have the same experience, after it joins EU. We wish you to finish the negotiations as quickly and as good as possible, in order to become full-fledged member of EU. Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico made statements to this effect at a today’s joint news conference with Prime Minister Dorin Recean.    

„I find out that there are no open political subjects between Slovakia and Moldova, which are to bother us. Namely therefore, we can focus our attention on a better economic cooperation and on subjects of political essence. The commercial exchanges between our countries reach 120-130 million euros. Even if this is a favourable result, we believe that this can be increased and a more dynamic cooperation can be in the field of the entrepreneurial activity. We discussed on all up-to-date subjects related to the bilateral cooperation and I am happy that the protocol on the avoidance of the double taxation was signed. We agreed that, if any document appears, we are willing, on both sides, to sign and complete it,’’ the Slovakian PM said.       

Robert Fico also said that the principal subject analyzed at the meeting with his Moldovan counterpart ‘’is Moldova’s ambition to become EU member state.’’ ’’Maybe Mr. Prime Minister was surprised when I spoke quite openly about EU and that the life there is not as easy that as it seems. At the same time, I opined that to be EU member is the best thing a country can do in this area. On behalf of Slovakia, I can say that the fact that we are EU member brought many resources, much progress and I hope that Moldova will have the same experience, after it joins EU. That is why, we wish you to finish the negotiations as quickly and as good as possible, in order to become a full-fledged EU member,’’ the official noted.    

The Slovakian prime minister reiterated that, ‘’in our European home, sometimes difference is felt between the big countries and the small ones and stressed the need of cooperation between the small countries.’’ ‘’If Moldova joins EU, Slovakia will prove a huge interest to cooperate, in order to create common points of view dealing with the principal subjects concerning the politics in EU,’’  the Slovak PM said.   

Robert Fico also said that Slovakia was prepared to provide Moldova with all experiences it had from the period of accession to EU. ‘’I can ascertain with pleasure that there are already exchanges of experience, for instance, in the field of intellectual property or statistics institutions. I received information that you are interested also in agriculture and the environment. In this respect, we will regulate all acts needed, so that experts from Moldova have a communication without obstacles and receive experience on behalf of our specialists and our friends from Moldova study and take over what they regard as opportune,’’ Robert Fico informed.       

The PM of Slovakia also congratulated Moldova on the results achieved by Moldovan sportspeople at the Paris Olympic Games. ‘’Sometimes, small countries compare with each other and now we should recognize that you have succeeded more than we, although you are a smaller country,’’ Robert Fico added.  

Prime Minister Dorin Recean said that Moldova and Slovakia were friendly countries and ‘’share a firm commitment for development and prosperity for their citizens in the area of peace provided by EU.’’ Recean noted that Moldova ‘’makes small decisive steps on the way of integration into EU.’’ He thanked Slovakia for the political supports ‘’on this not at all easy path.’’

„Our goal is to become EU member state. On 20 October, we will hold a referendum on accession to EU in Moldova. This is an exercise through which Slovakia went 20 years ago. I was happy to see that, at that time, the Slovakians, in an absolute majority, ruled to be EU members, as 93 per cent of the Slovakians voted for the accession to EU. Now, at a time distance of 20 years, we see how Slovakia has significantly transformed economically and socially. The living standards are, in continuation, growing for the citizens of Slovakia. You benefited from the structural funds, from investments which transformed Slovakia’s economy and brought prosperity to all citizens. Slovakia witnessed one of the quickest economic growths in Europe and we see how, during these 20 years, the economy has grown by more than 80 per cent, the people’s salaries doubled, hundreds of thousands of well-paid jobs were created and the poverty level reduced by a half. The security provided by Slovakia’s accession to EU and the Euro Area encouraged also important foreign direct investments and years in a row, Slovakia was the biggest world producer of automobiles per head,’’ Dorin Recean said.           

The Moldovan PM said that ‘’we see how, after joining EU, Slovakia made a huge leap forward; it became more prosperous, more innovating and stronger. ’’This is also the way Moldova goes. We have a plan for the European Moldova and we continue the efforts necessary, in order to provide better living conditions for the citizens and to ensure peace and well-being. Moldova’s place is in the great European Union and Slovakia’s support is important and critical for us,’’ Dorin Recean said.    

At the same time, Dorin Recean invited companies from Slovakia to invest in Moldova. ‘’We are here to strengthen our economic cooperation. We want to extend the mutual trade exchanges, especially in the investments sector through the participation of Slovakian companies in strategic projects in Moldova. We want to encourage Slovakian investments and to create a framework of cooperation which is to bring benefits to both countries. I invite Slovakian investors to analyze the business opportunities from Moldova. We have recently announced a great tender for renewable energy and have infrastructure projects where I think that investors and business people from Slovakia would have competitive advantages,’’ Dorin Recean specified.

The Moldovan PM thanked for the ‘’firm support’’ provided by Slovakia to Moldova and for ‘’our long-lasting partnership. ’’I invite each Slovakian to come to Moldova to taste our dishes, our wines and to visit the nice places which are in Moldova,’’ Dorin Recean added.   

Prime Minister Dorin Recean today pays a working visit to Bratislava. The visit’s agenda is aimed at consolidating the Moldovan-Slovakian relations and at identifying new opportunities of cooperation in the fields of common interest.