Moldova Hosts the EPC Summit #3
49 Heads of State, Government and EU Institutions have now arrived at Castel Mimi
EPC Coverage from Moldova Matters: Today Moldova Matters is covering the European Political Community Summit held in Moldova at Castel Mimi winery. We’ll post updates in a sequence of quick-hit articles over the course of the day as well as shorter posts on Substack Notes.
If you missed it see:
Update 1: National leaders from 48 countries will soon arrive at Castel Mimi in Bulboaca
Update 2: President Volodymyr Zelensky first to arrive in Bulboaca
Receptions Have Finished and the Summit is set to Begin
After around 3 hours of arrivals President Maia Sandu has finished greeting each of the 49 attendees of the EPC Summit. After photos and handshakes with the Moldovan President each national or EU leader walked a red carpet with most stopping to talk to the press and take brief questions. Many leaders, especially the most high profile attendees, stopped to take questions in English and make statements to the main TV stations broadcasting the event. At the same time, many presidents and prime ministers spoke to their national press in their own languages. Notably, Hungary’s Viktor Orban took no questions and made no statements as he brushed passed the press.
The impression on the ground is that all of Europe has come to the small village of Bulboaca in Chisinau.
Notable Statements to the press:
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, expressed hope that Serbia and Kosovo would meet during the summit in order to reduce tensions in Northern Kosovo.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, stated that he met with Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders 2 weeks ago and is hopeful that bilateral meetings today can move the countries towards a peace settlement.
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, stated:
“We believe that negotiations on Moldova's accession to the EU should start this year. We are impressed by the speed with which Moldova has responded to the recommendations of the European Commission. We will be ready when Moldova is ready, because Moldova's place is in the EU,”