Leaders promise cash for reforms as part of ‘EU future’ for Moldova

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Moldova’s president Maia Sandu (L), with EU council chief Antonio Costa and EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen (R)

EU and the World

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By Benjamin Fox,
Nairobi
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EU leaders promised that Moldova’s future “is within the European Union” following a summit in Brussels on Monday (22 June) as both sides vowed to accelerate talks on the country joining the bloc. 

The EU-Moldova summit amounted to a review Moldova’s progress in reforms on the path to European integration, particularly on the rule of law, fundamental rights, and the fight against organized crime, as well as aligning legislation with the EU acquis. 

Chișinău and Kyiv both applied to become candidate countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

But last week’s EU leaders’ summit in Brussels gave the formal green light for negotiations to open on the nuts and bolts of aligning Moldova’s legal framework to the EU’s. Talks had previously been blocked by the pro-Moscow Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán until he was ousted from office in a landslide election defeat in April. 

“Looking ahead, we agree to continue Moldova’s gradual integration into the EU’s internal market across key sectors and to enable Moldova’s progressive participation in EU policies and programmes already during the accession process,” stated a joint declaration issued after the summit. 

The ‘cluster’ on rule of law requires candidate countries to align their laws with the EU on issues such as judicial independence, anti-corruption and media freedom and was described by president Ursula von der Leyen as “the backbone of the accession process”. 

“With these reforms comes substantial European investment”, added von der Leyen. The declaration noted that Moldova has already received about €504m under the EU’s Reform and Growth Facility, while an additional €528m could be made available if the country meets reform targets due in 2026. 

In the meantime, Chișinău will gradually join more EU schemes, such as the Erasmus student exchange programme by 2028. It joined the EU’s environment agency earlier this year. 

Though both Moldova and Ukraine say that they want to complete the accession process by the end of 2027, meeting the EU’s rulebook, known as the acquis communautaire, is only part of the process. The EU’s 27 member states will also have to unanimously back accession. 

Also in the queue are several Western Balkan countries including Montenegro and Albania. EU council president Antonio Costa, who described enlargement as “the most important geopolitical investment” told reporters that accession talks with Montenegro were “moving fast” and could conclude by the end of this year, with Albania potentially concluding its own accession process by the end of 2027.  

A 2025 survey found that 63 percent of Moldovans would vote for EU accession should there be a referendum, though the approval figure dropped to just over 50 percent when Moldovans were asked if they agree to change their constitution to join the bloc. 

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Moldova's president Maia Sandu (L), with EU council chief Antonio Costa and EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen (R)

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Benjamin Fox is our trade and geopolitics editor. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He is based in Nairobi, Kenya, although he often reports from London.

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