MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF PARLIAMENT LAY FLOWERS AT THE MEMORIAL OF MILITARY GLORY “ETERNITY”

President Maia Sandu and Chairman of Parliament Igor Grosu laid flowers at the Enernitate (“Eternity”) Memorial Complex. According to INFOTAG, early Thursday morning, the ceremony was also attended by European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn, who came to Chisinau on a visit to participate in the European Day celebrations.

The leaders first laid wreaths at the “Sorrowful Mother” monument erected at the memorial in memory of those who died in the armed conflict on the Dniester in 1992. Then, they laid flowers at the graves of those who died in the Second World War, as well as at the Eternal Flame.

The President told reporters that “today we celebrate peace, and we thank those who sacrificed their lives to bring peace to the European continent.”

“We honor those who fought in the second war to bring peace back to Europe. We celebrate peace as May 9 was the first day of peace on our continent. We celebrate Europe because Europe is the most sustainable and most successful project of the world. This day reminds us how vulnerable the world is. We must do everything, absolutely everything to prevent new wars in Europe and in the whole world,” Sandu said.

The president emphasized that “for Moldova, the shortest way to peace is integration into the European Union.”

“This is a day of peace, and a day of remembrance. In peace and silence, we remember the dead. There is no contradiction in the fact that we celebrate peace and Europe Day on the same day, as Europe means peace,” the president said.

Prime Minister Dorin Recean was not present at the flower-laying ceremony. The government's press service said that on this day he made a visit to World War II veteran Alexei Eremchuk in the village of Grigorievca, Singerei district. He is 100 years old and is one of the 37 war veterans left alive in Moldova.

In 2022, the Parliament adopted a law that May 9 is a day off (holiday) in Moldova - Europe Day. Also, a procedure was initiated to rename Victory Day as the Day of Victory over Nazism and Remembrance of the Fallen in World War II. Amendments to the legislation also proposed to celebrate this day not on May 9, but on May 8, as in European countries. However, these amendments were not adopted by the parliament in the final reading.

This year, for the first time, the European Day celebrations are held on May 9. The “European Village” is set up on the Great National Assembly Square in the center of Chisinau. Mass events, exhibitions and a concert will be held there. Previously, the authorities postponed the celebrations to another day, while Victory Day was celebrated on May 9.