Moldova should become an EU member by 2019, said Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca on Tuesday when meeting with his visiting Romanian counterpart Victor Ponta, according to news reaching here from Moldova.
The two officials met in Sculeni, a Moldovan village near the Albanian border, to mark the lifting of visas for the Moldovan nationals traveling to the EU states.
Leanca said he is confident that the EU borders will extend to the east over the next four to five years and this will become possible with the help of the European and Romanian partners.
"Our fundamental goal -- for both of us, and for both our peoples, I think -- is to have a place at the table of full members for the prime minister of the Republic of Moldova in 2019, when Romania will hold the EU presidency," declared Ponta, stressing that the liberalization of the visa regime is an important step taken by Moldova towards the EU.
Romania will be near Moldova on its path to the EU, he added.
Ponta also said that large Romanian energy companies, in which the state holds majority holdings, plan to invest in the energy infrastructure in Moldova and in the gas and electricity interconnection infrastructure between Romania and Moldova.
After their meeting in Sculeni, the two prime ministers traveled to the Sculeni checkpoint and crossed the border without visas.
From April 28, the Moldovans holding biometric passports can travel visa-free in the EU (except Britain and Ireland) for three months during any 180-day period, but without the possibility to work.