The Moldovan Government has stated on a number of occasions that it is committed to the recovery of assets lost as a result of the 2014 bank fraud. Ongoing investigations are a matter for the relevant Moldovan authorities.

We have made clear to the Government of the Republic of Moldova that we expect it to deliver on its reform commitments as a matter of urgency. The Moldovan Government has made a moderately promising start with legislative reforms to the justice sector, and the strengthening of the banking system following the 2014 bank fraud, but these initial steps need to be underpinned by full implementation and concrete results and Moldova still has a long way to go on judicial and economic reform and fighting corruption.

The UK is providing support to judicial and economic reform and fighting corruption, including through the Good Governance Fund (GGF). Through the GGF we plan to fund up to £4.3 million worth of projects and programmes in Financial Year 16/17, including projects which focus on these areas specifically. We plan a similar allocation in Financial Year 17/18. GGF support has already helped improve the resilience of the banking and financial sectors through supervisory and regulatory reform and contributed to improving sentencing procedures for corruption crimes, by developing sentencing guidelines as well as recommendations for their application.

We share the assessment of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Election Observation Mission which covered the first and second rounds of the Presidential elections in Moldova on 30 October and 13 November 2016. The OSCE/ODIHR concluded that both rounds were competitive with respect for fundamental freedoms. They also noted, however, that the electoral process was marred by widespread abuse of administrative resources, lack of campaign finance transparency and unbalanced media coverage with politically affiliated broadcasters portraying some candidates in an increasingly negative tone, especially in the run-up to the second round. We urge the Moldovan authorities to consider measures to deal with these priorities for the future.

We share the assessment of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Election Observation Mission which covered the first and second rounds of the Presidential elections in Moldova on 30 October and 13 November 2016. The OSCE/ODIHR concluded that both rounds were competitive with respect for fundamental freedoms. They also noted, however, that the electoral process was marred by widespread abuse of administrative resources, lack of campaign finance transparency and unbalanced media coverage with politically affiliated broadcasters portraying some candidates in an increasingly negative tone, especially in the run-up to the second round. We urge the Moldovan authorities to consider measures to deal with these priorities for the future.

The Republic of Moldova is not a Candidate Country. The UK remains committed to supporting reform, embedding stability and addressing shared challenges such as security and migration in the Eastern Neighbourhood. We fully support the Association Agreement (AA) which aims to deepen political and economic relations between Moldova and the EU.

Moldova has made a promising start on implementation of the ambitious political, governance and economic reforms agreed under the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, which was provisionally applied from September 2014 and entered into force on 1 July 2016 following ratification by all EU Member States. The Association Agreement which, includes the introduction of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, supports Moldova's economic growth by providing both EU market access and an impetus for modernising reforms. The key sectors where reforms are needed include the rule of law and judicial sector reform, a reformed public sector administration, and financial and banking sector reform.

The British Government monitors progress closely and encourages and supports the Moldovan Government to maintain momentum across the board, and in particular on judicial reform and in tackling corruption where more work is needed by Moldova to further embed democratic institutions. The UK's Good Governance Fund (GGF) is funding a project to provide easy access to the general public, media and the business sector on the implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the aim of stimulating corresponding trade opportunities.

The establishment of a NATO liaison office in Chisinau was requested by the Moldovan Government. The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova has ratified the exchange of letters necessary for the office to proceed and the Government understands the office is likely to open in June 2017. NATO is committed to supporting Moldova's reform efforts and both NATO and the UK share the objective of wishing to see a secure and stable Moldova. The Republic of Moldova is, however, a constitutionally neutral country that does not aspire to NATO membership, something which both the UK and NATO acknowledge and respect.The British Ambassador to Moldova met the Head of the NATO Office (designate) in Chisinau on 3 March.