European affairs deputy minister Marilena Raouna on Monday offered Cyprus’ support for “Moldova’s European path” during a visit to the country.

Speaking after a meeting with the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Cristina Gherasimov in Chisinau, she said Moldova has made “commendable progress in reforms and in defining the roadmap for tangible results” as it works towards accession to the European Union.

As such, she said, when Cyprus holds the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency in the first half of next year, “we will work to achieve together, hand in hand”.

“Enlargement has a renewed momentum, and we must seize it in a tangible way. In this context, we discussed concrete steps to further advance Moldova’s accession negotiations,” she said.

She then added that EU enlargement is “an integral, necessary component of the vision for a stronger, more prosperous and resilient union, which offers even more for its citizens, for Europe, and to the world as a stable and reliable partner”.

Cyprus, she added, “has been and remains a strong supporter of enlargement and is committed during its presidency to act as an honest broker and a constructive partner”.

“Together, we can make progress in Moldova’s accession negotiations, to achieve tangible results, because we believe that Moldova’s future lies in the European Union,” she said.

She then praised the “determination and courage to more forward with reforms and strengthen democratic institutions” shown by both “the people and the government” of Moldova.

“EU support for Moldova is much more than just financial assistance. It is an investment in people, communities, and opportunities – and in our common future,” she said.

On this matter, she made reference to the EU’s development plan for Moldova, wherein as much as €1.6 billion in grants and loans has been allocated to “stimulate Moldova’s economy, create jobs, and support the backbone of our economies – small and medium-sized enterprises”.

Raouna had earlier in the day met Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

Moldova has in recent years been making steps towards joining the EU, with a referendum on EU membership passing with 50.4 per cent of the vote last October.

This result came about despite what Sandu had described at the time as “clear evidence” that criminal groups backed by “foreign forces hostile to our national interests” had attempted to buy the votes of as many as 300,000 people, in an electorate of just 1.5 million.