From North to South: European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos celebrates Europe Day in Moldova
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos conducted a three-day visit to Moldova, from 9 to 11 May, to highlight the EU’s support to Moldova and to announce the EU Reform and Reform Plan for Moldova.
On 9 May, following the signing of the Plan, Marta Kos joined European Union Ambassador Jānis Mažeiks and EU Member State ambassadors to open Europe Day celebrations in Chisinau.
On 10 May, the Commissioner visited the ‘Ion Luca Caragiale’ Lyceum in Orhei, met locals in Negureni community, in the Telenești region, and took part in the opening ceremony of the ‘Dream Island’ in Vasile Alecsandri park in Edineț. The space in Edineț was modernised with the support of the EU-funded project ‘Edineț – insights into tomorrow cities’.
While in Edineț, Marta Kos took part in the official opening of the first fair of ‘Products from Edineț – Tradition, Taste and Innovation’, which brought together around 30 entrepreneurs and artisans from the region. The initiative was implemented with the support of the ‘EU4Moldova: Focal Communities’ programme, funded by the European Union and the governments of Germany, Austria and Poland.
On the same day in Bălți, more than 100 young people from the northern region of Moldova met with Commissioner Kos. The young people asked questions about the process of joining the European Union, reforms, opportunities for their generation and the active role they could play on this path.
In Bălți, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos also met with representatives of local authorities and the business community in the northern region to learn about the challenges they face and their main development needs.
On 11 May, the European Commissioner travelled to the southern region of Moldova. In Congaz, Moldova’s largest village, located in Găgăuzia, she visited the Gagauz Sofrasi ethno-tourism complex, a business developed with the support of the European Union through a grant of approximately €40,000.
The European Commissioner also met with representatives of municipalities from several towns in southern Moldova: the Gagauzia Autonomous Territorial Unit (mayors of Comrat, Vulcănești, and Ceadîr-Lunga), Taraclia, Cahul, Leova, Cimislia, and Cantemir. They discussed the main challenges facing the region (economic development and agriculture), the opportunities offered by Moldova’s EU integration, and the importance of preserving local traditions and culture.
In Cahul, Marta Kos held an open dialogue with young people and representatives of civil society, held at the premises of the State University, and officially opened the Oenology Centre at the Nicolae Botgros Cultural Palace. The new Oenology centre will host wine and traditional food tastings, thus becoming a platform for dialogue between wineries, authorities, and the community. The centre received €100,000 in support from the EU as part of the ‘EU4Moldova: Focal Regions’ programme, implemented by the UNDP and UNICEF. These funds were used to purchase equipment, goods, works and services.
On 11 May, the European Commissioner also visited the eco-village of Văleni, recognised as the ‘Best Tourism Village’ by the World Tourism Organisation in 2023 and selected as the ‘Destination of the Year 2024 in the Republic of Moldova.’ On this occasion, the Commissioner took part in the ‘Toba Fest’ festival and met with mayors, women entrepreneurs and small producers from southern Moldova.
In the evening of the same day, the Commissioner visited Lake Beleu, part of the Lower Prut Biosphere Reserve, which is included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
On this occasion, the Marta Kos visited a viewing platform equipped with a monocular telescope offering a panoramic view of the entire reserve – an investment made with the support of the European Union to develop eco-tourism infrastructure in the area. The platform was created by the VIA Cahul tourism cluster, which received a €100,000 grant from the EU as part of the ‘EU4Moldova: Focal Regions’ programme, implemented by UNDP and UNICEF.
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