The Council adopted the following conclusions:

"The Council recalls its strong commitment to further deepening the relationship between the EU and the Republic of Moldova, on the basis of shared values and principles. The Eastern Partnership, launched in Prague on 7 May as a specific Eastern dimension of the ENP, provides a new, ambitious framework for taking the EU-Republic of Moldova relationship to a new level. The Council is committed to enhancing EU support for further political and economic reforms in the Republic of Moldova, aimed in particular at strengthening democracy and good governance, the rule of law, freedom of the media and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Council welcomes in this context the Commission’s intention to launch a comprehensive package for democracy support in the Republic of Moldova.

Against this background, the Council has adopted the EU’s negotiating directives for a new, comprehensive EU-Republic of Moldova agreement which will go beyond the current Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The Council expresses its willingness to start negotiations as soon as circumstances allow.

In this context, and with a view to the start of the negotiations, the Council calls on the Republic of Moldova to ensure equal treatment to all EU citizens in its visa policy and underlines the importance of the principle of good-neighbourly relations.

At the same time, the Council expresses serious concern over the human rights abuses that took place after the 5 April parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova. It calls for a transparent, impartial and effective investigation of the human rights violations as well as the events around 7 April, through a process that includes the opposition as well as international experts. The Council underlines that the use of violence for political aims is unacceptable. The Council is also concerned by the deterioration of freedom of expression and media freedom and urges the Republic of Moldova to ensure equal access of political parties to the public media, to ensure transparent allocation of media licences and to refrain from the use of administrative pressure against independent media, civil society organisations and political parties.

The Council is closely following political developments in the Republic of Moldova and underlines the need for constructive political dialogue. It urges the Moldovan authorities to ensure that the forthcoming parliamentary elections are free and fair and calls on them to work closely with the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to address their recommendations.

The Council underlines continued efforts of the EU to contribute to a peaceful and viable settlement of the Transnistria conflict and stresses the importance of fully observing the principles of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova. In this context, the Council welcomes the work of the EUSR and the Commission on confidence-building measures and calls on all sides to support these. The Council reiterates that a settlement has to be negotiated in the 5+2 framework which is the only format that can guarantee the necessary transparency and legitimacy. The Council calls for the resumption of 5+2 negotiations as soon as possible."

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