H.E. Mrs. Larisa Miculet:

Absolutely. The Deputy described it precisely. The EU resolution on what Moldova is facing described precisely the entire picture of how we are managing the various crises and struggling to make progress on these chapters' conditions on EU accession. It is not easy. On the one hand, we have to be careful and not miss anything that presents a threat to our security. On the other hand, we have to do constructive work to ensure progress.

The Deputy mentioned that the Moldovan people supported the European process. I will stress again that, in such a fragile security environment, people understand even better than before that the EU is a project of peace, democracy and prosperity. Over the past year, I did a lot of research ahead of Ireland celebrating the 50th anniversary of its joining the EU and I found many of the same issues we are facing now. For example, the Irish asked themselves about the potential risks and unknowns. That was difficult for Ireland at the time whereas seeing that EU countries are prosperous and democratic is easier for us now. We want peace in our country. We also want to see Ukraine and Georgia as members of the EU. That is why there is now a large consensus among our populations.

I have described a few of the reforms. In the energy sector, for example, there was a significant challenge for us in autumn 2022 because we had only one source of gas, namely, Russia. For the first time in our history, though, we managed to diversify. We connected our system to Romania, so we now have gas from other pipes. In recent days, the European Commission declared that it would help Moldova purchase gas for next winter at other prices. This will increase our resilience and allow us to go further.

Small countries have to support one another and we count on Ireland very much. Bilaterally, we are working with experts from the Department of Foreign Affairs on how we can implement Ireland's expertise in various areas, for example, absorbing EU funds. I will not go into detail, but we are doing that work because Ireland is a great example of a small country becoming prosperous through membership of the EU.

Deputy Ó Murchú asked me about disinformation. The Russian Federation uses different tools within its country and abroad. Our capability to counter disinformation grew stronger because we worked with various experts from the EU, which is definitely ahead of us in this area. We were capable of identifying many sources of such information and taking measures. Some television stations and mass media were financed heavily by the Russian Federation. Moldova took the appropriate measures that a state was obliged to take. We launched a mission in Moldova that will concentrate efforts. It is led by a Romanian diplomat, which is pleasing, and comprises specialists and experts in the field. They will concentrate on disinformation, cyber threats and so forth. I am optimistic in this regard.