28. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on discussions regarding Moldova joining the European Union. [68997/26]

Ireland strongly supports EU enlargement, which is a key priority of our EU Presidency.

Moldova applied for EU membership in 2022 and opened accession negotiations in 2024. After completing the screening process, Moldova opened the first two negotiating clusters - Cluster 1 on Fundamentals and Clusters 6 on External Relations – in June and July respectively.

In July, during the first month of our Presidency, Ireland secured significant progress on the enlargement file, holding the highest number of accession conferences in a single day since 2002. In addition to opening cluster 6 with both Ukraine and Moldova, we facilitated the closure of two additional chapters with Montenegro as well as the closure of the first three negotiating chapters with Albania.

Last year, the European Commission's Enlargement Report highlighted that Moldova has made the most one-year progress of all the candidates over the reporting period. I am very conscious of the efforts that Moldova is making to meet the challenge of aligning their laws with the EU acquis, despite the ongoing hybrid threats and external interference they are facing.

As confirmed by the European Commission, Moldova, as well as Ukraine, is technically ready to open all negotiating clusters. As Presidency, Ireland will continue to engage with other Member States to secure the unanimity required for the opening of all remaining clusters with both Moldova and Ukraine.

Ireland is also providing technical support to candidate countries – including Moldova – through our “Ireland for EU Enlargement” capacity-building programme, which is funded by my department and delivered by the Institute of Public Administration. I am pleased that officials from Moldova have participated in the first two years of the programme.

The Taoiseach held a bilateral meeting last week with the Prime Minister of Moldova in the margins of the UN General Assembly. Additionally, this week, Moldova's Chief Negotiator with the EU is leading a delegation to Dublin to discuss the progress that Moldova has been making in the area of rule of law. Ireland also opened our Embassy in Chi?in?u in 2025; it serves to strengthen our bilateral relations and facilitate deeper engagement on Moldova’s EU accession.

Ireland will continue to provide our full support for Moldova's EU accession process.