A country divided
Moldova’s accession talks with the EU began in June this year, moving forward in the process at the same time as neighboring Ukraine. However, as with Kyiv’s application, the country faces significant hurdles to actually being admitted to the club of 27 countries.
Since the fall of the USSR, a frozen conflict has simmered over the breakaway region of Transnistria, where Russia has stationed troops despite objections from the Moldovan government. The existence of the unrecognized state presents Brussels with a dilemma — with few European leaders relishing a repeat of the decision to admit Cyprus to the bloc while almost half of the island remains occupied by a Turkish-backed separatist government.
Last year, Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan, chair of the European Parliament’s delegation to Moldova, warned that “Moldova cannot become a member of the EU with Russian troops on its territory.” According to him, the issue needs to be solved “before membership.”
However, Gherasimov insisted that negotiations were moving ahead despite the dispute. “We have not seen any mentions in official documents to the Transnistria region, which for us is a clear signal that there is not going to be special focus on the region,” she said.
According to Sandu and her ministers, the referendum to enshrine Moldova’s European dream in the constitution will prevent future governments from undermining its Westward trajectory. However, the high-profile vote will also be used to convince Brussels to move ahead with the membership process.
“We hope this rare window of opportunity, where there is interest to talk about enlargement, will continue,” Gherasimov said. “We’re working on a domestic deadline to be ready for accession by 2030 — we want the EU to reciprocate because we need a credible commitment.”