Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mihai Popsoi will become the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova

The Moldavian Foreign Ministry will be headed by the current Vice-Speaker of Parliament, Mihai Popsoi, TASS reports. The Prime Minister of the Republic, Dorin Recean, announced changes in the Moldovan Foreign Ministry. According to him, changes will occur next week.

Prior to his new appointment, Popshoi had been involved in parliamentarism since 2019. In 2017, he became vice-chairman of the ruling liberal Action and Solidarity party, which advocates European values ​​and the country’s rapprochement with the EU.

The prime minister also announced the restructuring of the Foreign Ministry in connection with the creation of a new state unit that will directly deal with Chisinau’s relations with the European Union. Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MFAEI) will be called simply the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a new department will deal with issues of Moldova’s future accession to the EU. Its leader will be the current Deputy Prime Minister Kristina Gerasimov.

Previously, the post of Foreign Minister was held by Nikolai Popescu. He advocates European integration of Moldova and rapprochement with NATO countries.

Last December, the European Council approved a decision on negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine on accession to the EU. Chisinau and Kyiv expect to become part of the association in the coming years. To this end, countries are carrying out appropriate reforms to democratize the political system and strengthen the market economy.

At the end of December, the Parliament of Moldova decided to hold a general referendum in the country on the issue of joining the EU. The President of the Republic, Maia Sandu, stated that the authorities plan to hold a referendum simultaneously with the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2024. Sandu wants to participate in the upcoming elections again. The current president has already announced her candidacy for voting.