Moldovan President Maia Sandu has publicly stated that she would vote in favour of unification with Romania if a referendum were held on the matter.
In an interview for the British podcast The Rest is Politics, broadcast yesterday and conducted by hosts Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell, Sandu said: “If we have a referendum, I would vote for the unification with Romania.”
She explained her reasoning by highlighting the growing challenges faced by small states in maintaining sovereignty and democratic governance amid global pressures.
“Look at what is happening in the world. It is getting more and more difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign country, and of course to resist Russia,” she said.
Sandu linked this to ongoing concerns about Russian influence, including accusations of interference in Moldovan politics through disinformation, financing and other hybrid tactics — claims Moscow has denied.
Her comments come against a backdrop of Moldova’s strong pro-European orientation under Sandu’s leadership.
Her Party of Action and Solidarity secured a parliamentary majority in the September 2025 elections, following her re-election in 2024. Moldova continues to pursue European Union accession as its primary strategic goal, with Sandu emphasising that path enjoys broader public support than unification.
Recent polls indicate that around one-third of Moldovans favour reunification with Romania. About 1.5 million citizens holding Romanian passports.
Sandu acknowledged there is “no majority in favour of unification with Romania, but there is a majority that supports accession to the EU, and we are acting in that direction.”
“This is a more realistic objective.”
She also recalled historical discussions on the topic during Moldova’s national revival movements in the late 1980s, when the country was emerging from Soviet rule, but stressed that no referendum ever tested public opinion at that time.
The nationalistic and conservative AUR party, far ahead in the polls, also wants a unification with Moldova, with it’s party programme stating: “Assuming the reunification with the Republic of Moldova as a country project and as a priority for the national and European regional development strategy, including the security and defence perspective of consolidating the Eastern flank of NATO.”
George Simion, the President of AUR, told Brussels Signal in a reaction yesterday: “We hope that President Sandu is a serious politician and we are glad she seems to understand the current geopolitical situation.
“Romania is ready, anytime, to rejoin with Republic of Moldova.
“It is common sense: The key is to unite forces, current times are hard, hopefully we will also see a vote in the Moldavian Parliament for reunification, we had it in 2018 in the Romanian parliament,” Simion said.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan has also expressed his support for unification.
In a July 2025 interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung during an official visit to Germany, he stated: “Personally, I wish for unification with Moldova but I fully respect the will of the citizens of the neighbouring republic.”
He has repeatedly emphasised that any such step must reflect the democratic choice of a majority in Moldova, similarly prioritising practical co-operation and Moldova’s EU path in the meantime.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of the Kremlin, has said Russia did not recognise Maia Sandu as President of Moldova after the latest elections there. https://t.co/i7dmV9acXj
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 7, 2024