Presidency of the Republic of Moldova
The President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu met with the European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi, who is on her first working visit to Chisinau today. During the meeting, the Head of State underscored that the commitment to fight against corruption remains the priority of the governmental team.
"We focus our efforts on eliminating abusive practices in the management of public money and properties, and on providing effective tools to the justice sector institutions in order to fight against the scourge of corruption. By undertaking these measures, we can improve the relation of our citizens with the state and enhance the quality of people's lives," Maia Sandu said after the discussion with Laura Codruța Kövesi. The Head of State also noted that progress in this area is not achieved rapidly, especially in the case of investigating large-scale corruption or identifying and recovering stolen assets that were transferred abroad.
"Regarding these cases, the progress of investigations depends on cooperation with prosecutors from other jurisdictions. We count on cooperation between the prosecution authorities of the Republic of Moldova and prosecutors from the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), the leading EU prosecution institution," President Maia Sandu said. The Head of State welcomed the fact that the General Prosecutor's Office and the head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office will sign a cooperation agreement in this regard and noted that our authorities count on EPPO's help for investigating the frauds committed by those fleeing justice, and for supervising the use of European funds in the Republic of Moldova.
According to the Head of State, the Republic of Moldova is committed to advance in the process of European integration, while the functioning of justice and the fight against corruption remain decisive for this end. "The rule of law, the efficiency of the justice sector and the capacity of state institutions to function effectively, without corruption, are decisive for our path towards European integration. Eradicating corruption is also important in the context of the management of development funds, which our country will access throughout the pre-accession period. The money provided by donors must be used efficiently and honestly, in the interest of citizens, for the modernisation of the country and the improvement of the services offered to citizens", President Maia Sandu concluded.
