The Republic of Moldova is a candidate state to the European Union since 2022. The relations between the bloc and the post-Soviet state are shaped by the European Neighbourhood Policy and are mostly positive since 2020, when the pro-European Maia Sandu became the president of Moldova, a position she holds until today.
After gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova went through a crisis period all throughout the last decade of the 20th century, marked by political instability, Russian influence and lack of monetary resources. The first signs of European integration were seen during the presidency of the Communist Vladimir Voronin from 2001 to 2009, but it was mostly formal as no real signs were seen. Internal repression for pro-European measures and rights led to unrest and continued political instability culminating in events such as the April 2009 riots.
Moldova, together with Ukraine and Georgia, is part of the Association Trio, founded in 2021 to oversee the integration of all three with the European community. All the three sent their formal applications in March 2022, within days of each other due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started a week prior. On June 23, 2022, Moldova and Ukraine were given green light to start negotiations under the commitment of structural reforms.
The strongest ties with a member state of the European Union for Moldova are with Romania, its western neighbour. The two states share a long history, culture, traditions and Romanian is the official language of both of them. Moldova, excepting Transnistria, was part of Romania between 1918 and 1940, while the Principality of Moldavia was one of the three core Romanian states. Romanians represent a significant minority in Moldova, at about 8% of the total population declaring itself ethnic Romanian despite an active controversy between the separation of Moldovans and Romanians in two different ethnicities. A unification movement is active in both states, with medium support in both states. About a third of Moldova's population holds Romanian citizenship due to a law passed by the Government of Romania offering the right of anyone with a Romanian ancestor up to the third generation to claim Romanian citizenship. 40% of all the foreign-born residents of Romania are from Moldova.
Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe and has one of the lowest HDI out of every European country. Its economy is dominated by the service sector. Just like Ukraine and Georgia, Moldova has Russian-occupied territories, in this case the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, or Transnistria for short. Russian influence is seen as a major factor holding Moldova back from its accession and the country used to be a full member of the Commonwealth of Independent States until 2022, when it began the withdrawal process which is expected to be done in 2027. Russophilia is a major part of the Moldovan politics, the country alternating between a pro-European government, led currently by Maia Sandu and her party PAS, and a pro-Russian opposition, led by the Communists, Socialists and other proxy parties representing Russian interests.
The European Union has developed a close relation with Moldova especially in the later years. It opened an office in Chișinău in 2005 and has constantly aided Moldova throughout crisis periods such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, a constitutional referendum oversaw the amendment of the constitution to include European integration as a key goal of Moldova. Moldova and Ukraine both officially began negotiations on July 25, 2024. As of September 2026, 7 chapters have been opened and none closed."Moldova and EU" on the official Moldova site
Agreements The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) represents the legal framework for the Republic of Moldova–European Union relationship. The Agreement was signed on 28 November 1994 and entered into force on 1 July 1998 for the next 10 years. This arrangement provides for a basis of cooperation with the EU in the political, commercial, economic, legal, cultural and scientific areas.
In 2005, Moldova began implementing its first three-year action plan within the framework of the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy.Moldova-EU Action Plan Approved by European Commission , 14 December 2004, retrieved 2 July 2007 This was the EU Moldova Action Plan, a political document that laid out the strategic objectives of cooperation between Moldova and the EU. Its implementation was intended to help fulfil the provisions in the PCA and to encourage and support Moldova's objective of further integration into European economic and social structures. Implementation of the Action Plan was meant to significantly advance the approximation of Moldovan legislation, norms and standards to those of the European Union.
Moldova and the EU began negotiating an Association Agreement (AA), including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, to replace the PCA in January 2010. The AA was initialled in November 2013 at the Eastern Partnership summit, and signed on 27 June 2014. The parliament of Moldova ratified the agreement on 2 July 2014.
On 24 January 2011, Moldova officially received an "action plan" toward the establishment of a visa-free regime for short-stay travel from the EU's Internal Affairs Commissioner."EU Gives Moldovans 'Action Plan' For Visa-Free Travel", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (24 January 2011) In November 2013, the Commission proposed that visa requirements for short-term visits be abolished for Moldovan citizens holding biometric passports, with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius suggesting the change could take place in early 2014."Lithuanian minister: EU, Moldova may shift to visa-free travel in early 2014", Kyiv Post. On 13 February 2014 the European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs Committee approved lifting the visa requirements, and the full parliament voted in favour on 27 February 2014. The European Parliament and Council gave their final consent to visa-free travel for Moldovan citizens on 3 April 2014, and the change become applicable on 28 April 2014.
On 14 May 2024, Financial Times reported that Moldova and the European Union would soon sign an important security agreement. The article by Financial Times claims that the news agency has seen the proposed security arrangement and notes that the arrangement would significantly deepen the security relationship of Moldova and the European Union. Furthermore, the agreement would come on the heels of a defense agreement between Moldova and France from March 2024, as the Financial Times article about the agreement between Moldova and the European Union also notes. The report from the Financial Times also comes after recent news (April 2024) about a Romanian draft bill on defending Romanian citizens abroad (including many Moldovans with Romanian citizenship) from danger via "military intervention" and including from "hybrid threats", which is significant considering Romania's membership in the European Union (according to Balkan Insight). This proposed Romanian legislation does not specify policy towards dual-citizenship holders of Romanian passports.
On 20 May 2024, Moldova becomes the first non-European Union (EU) signatory country to sign a security and defense pact with the EU to receive assistance to strengthen and manage its borders, facilitate cooperation in terms of cybersecurity and fight against disinformation.
Accession of Moldova to the European Union
The European Parliament passed a resolution in 2014 stating that "in accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as any other European country, have a European perspective and can apply for EU membership in compliance with the principles of democracy, respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, minority rights and ensuring the rule of rights".
In April 2014, whilst visiting the Moldovan-Romanian border at Sculeni, Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca stated, "We have an ambitious target but I consider that we can reach it: doing everything possible for Moldova to become a full member of the European Union when Romania will hold the presidency of the EU in 2019". In July 2017, Andrian Candu, Moldova's speaker of parliament, said that the country aimed to submit an application for membership by late 2018 or 2019.
Some political parties within both Moldova and Romania advocate merging the two countries. Such a scenario would incorporate the current territory of Moldova into Romania and thus into the EU, though the Transnistria conflict would still be an issue. With regard to free movement of labour it could be argued that as far as individuals are concerned, Moldova is already a de facto member of the EU, since Moldovans will automatically gain a Romanian passport if they show that their ancestors were at one point Romanian (that is before the countries were split).
The integration process, however, has been hampered by many internal issues. The unresolved issue of the breakaway republic of Transnistria is a major barrier to any progress. Also, Moldova's autonomous region of Gagauzia held two referendums on 2 February 2014, where an overwhelming majority of voters rejected integration with the EU and opted for closer ties with Russia.
In the backdrop of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Maia Sandu signed a formal application for EU membership on 3 March 2022. On 7 March, the EU said it would formally assess Moldova's application. On 11 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova Nicu Popescu received a questionnaire from the European Commission (EC) following a meeting with the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi as a result of Moldova's application for candidacy. Their response to the first part of the questionnaire was submitted back to the EC through the Delegation of the European Union to Moldova's head Janis Mazeiks by the Prime Minister of Moldova Natalia Gavrilița on 22 April, while the responses to the second part were submitted on 12 May 2022.
On 17 June 2022, the European Commission formally recommended that the European Council grant the Republic of Moldova the perspective to become a member of the European Union and candidate status for accession, with a number of conditions for the opening of accession negotiations. On 23 June, the European Council granted candidate status to Moldova.
Moldova was asked to improve the efficiency of its economy; reduce corruption; better enforce property rights; reduce the size of state-owned enterprises; improve energy efficiency; improve the labour market; comprehensively reform the judicial system and prosecutions, including filling vacancies; address problems identified by the OECD, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and Venice Commission; improve investigations and prosecutions of corruption and implement recommendations of the National Anticorruption Centre; implement "de-oligarchisation"; reduce organised crime, improve money-laundering laws, and implement Financial Action Task Force standards; improve procurement, public administration, and delivery of public services; increase involvement of civil society in decision-making; reduce violence against women; and strengthen protections for gender equality and the human rights of vulnerable groups.
On 21 May 2023, the Pro-European rally European Moldova National Assembly took place in Chișinău, having had tens of thousands of participants.
According to the Moldovan Prime Minister, Natalia Gavrilița, Moldova's accession negotiations with the EU can begin no earlier than the autumn of 2023.