The European Commissioner for Enlargement promised a journalist a drink if the Republic of Moldova opens all six EU clusters by the end of the year

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos promised NordNews journalist Cătălin Volconovici that she would buy him a drink if the Republic of Moldova manages to open all six negotiating clusters for accession to the European Union by the end of the year. The moment took place in Luxembourg on October 13, following the fourth Republic of Moldova–EU Intergovernmental Conference.

Asked what she based her optimism on and whether political guarantees existed to prevent further deadlocks, Marta Kos said she could not offer a 100% guarantee, but that she was confident in the support of the member states and the pace of the negotiations. At the end, the European commissioner added with a smile: “And then I’ll buy you a drink.”

Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, pointed out that potential delays could also be caused by the member states’ internal procedures, not only by political disagreements.

The Republic of Moldova has officially opened the “Internal Market” and “Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth” clusters and now has four of the six clusters open, covering 24 of the 33 accession chapters. The final two, dedicated to the green agenda, connectivity, resources, agriculture and cohesion, are technically ready but require the agreement of the member states.