Moldova’s Popescu ‘optimistic’ about EU green light in December

Moldova will continue working together with the EU to keep “cleaning its system from the toxic influence of criminal oligarchs” as part of a concerted push to advance its EU membership bid, the country’s Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu told Euractiv.

After the publication of the EU’s annual enlargement progress reports, which for the first time included Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, EU officials have described Chişinău as a “frontrunner” in terms of the speed of reforms required for full alignment with the EU.

“We are very conscious that we have a lot of work ahead, but Moldovan society and our government have its eyes firmly on bringing the country into the EU,” Popescu said in Brussels after the European Commission recommended on Wednesday (8 November) opening accession talks with Moldova.

“We are optimistic because we know how much we did in terms of reforming Moldova consolidating our democracy, pursuing justice sector reform, pursuing de-oligarchisation, pursuing energy resilience, and strengthening Moldova’s capacity to contribute to the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy – and we know that our European partners and the European Commission and the EU member states have noticed,” he said.

According to the Commission, Chişinău still needs to fulfil three of its nine recommendations, including the need to finalise judicial reforms, introduce further anti-graft measures, and make progress with economic indicators.

Speaking about the outstanding reforms, Popescu admitted that Moldova might still have a long path to go when it comes to justice and home affairs reforms.

“We know that the work of de-oligarchasing Moldova is not finished […]  We will continue working together with the EU to keep cleaning Moldova’s system from the toxic influence of criminal oligarchs,” he added.

Over the past year, Moldova’s government has taken steps against Russia-friendly oligarchs who it says had planned to destabilise the country and prevent it from getting closer to EU membership.

Brussels has also imposed sanctions on high-profile Moldovan politicians of the populist, Russia-friendly Shor party, who have led a series of protests against the country’s pro-Western government.

“Besides talking about what is in the report, the main thing is that we want to structure the next weeks and months and so we are in a starting position for the formal start of accession talks,” Popescu said.

“We are also very confident that when we talk about the meritocratic accession process, the speed of accession to the EU will – to a large degree – depend on us,” he added.

Asked whether he expects the green light at the EU’s December summit, Popescu said Chişinău was “working with every single member state” to make it happen.

On the political criteria, the EU executive’s enlargement report noted, “Moldova has continued reform efforts to strengthen democracy and the rule of law despite multiple challenges linked to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”.

Earlier this month, Moldova President Maia Sandu’s pro-European party came first in hundreds of local elections but failed to win mayoral seats in major cities, including the capital, in a weekend vote monitors said was marred by foreign meddling and the barring of a pro-Russian party.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitored the elections, said that campaigning had been distorted by an “influx of illicit and foreign funds and the monetary incentives used to influence voters’ choice”.

It was the country’s last national vote before a presidential election due in November 2024, expected to be crucial for Chişinău advancing its bid to join the EU and leave Russia’s orbit.

Asked whether he would be worried that Russia might try to destabilise the country even further in light of Chişinău’s enlargement progress, Popescu said that “of course, Russia’s attempts to destabilise Moldova intensified after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”.

“Russia has been pursuing hostile policies towards Moldova from before our independence with support for separatists, maintaining Russian troops illegally on our territory, embargoes on Moldova exports, and energy blackmail,” he said.

However, Popescu added, “Moldova has a proven track record of over 30 years of being able to resist” such attempts and has proved this by “limiting” them in this month’s local elections.

“Yes, the context [for our accession efforts] is difficult, but then again, we have not been living in an easy context, neither in the last year and a half nor in the last two decades,” Popescu said.

“We’re confident that we stay strongly on the same path and will bring the country into the EU.”

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]