Weekly Roundup: EU Says Moldova Made the Fastest Progress Among Candidate Countries
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
-
Enlargement of the European Union
15 min read
The article centers on Moldova's progress in EU accession negotiations and the enlargement package. Understanding the historical process, criteria, and previous waves of EU enlargement provides essential context for why this is significant and what steps remain.
-
Transnistria
12 min read
The article references Moldova's territorial integrity challenges and Russian influence. Transnistria is the Russian-backed breakaway region that complicates Moldova's sovereignty and EU path, making it critical context for understanding the geopolitical stakes.
-
Maia Sandu
14 min read
President Sandu is mentioned repeatedly as the face of Moldova's EU integration push. Her background as a former World Bank economist and anti-corruption reformer explains why she's positioned Moldova toward Europe and why she's a target of Russian interference.
International Affairs & European Integration
On November 4th the European Union released the annual EU Enlargement Package. This report lays out the birds eye view of EU enlargement as well as country specific progress reports. It was presented at a press conference by EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos. Summarizing the overall situation they stated:
“Albania, Montenegro, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova have positive chances of joining the EU, while Georgia’s chances are smaller”
In the country by country reports, the Enlargement Package states that Montenegro is the most prepared candidate country in terms of accession negotiations overall, but that “The Republic of Moldova has made the most progress in one year among all candidate countries.”
Marta Kos elaborated on this point saying:
“Moldova has made the most progress, but accession negotiations have not yet started. (…) This does not mean that reforms are not on the right track, but there are a series of rules that must be followed. Even so, the Republic of Moldova must continue to develop. The EU could open negotiation clusters with Moldova and Ukraine in November 2025”
Other statements also emphasized that Moldova is ready to open 3 negotiating clusters “alongside Ukraine.” This formula indicates that Moldova and Ukraine’s paths towards the EU continue to be linked, meaning that Hungary will continue to block forward movement.
President Sandu was in Brussels and was presented by Marta Kos with a copy of the report in person. In a short video filmed for the event Kos addressed President Sandu saying::
“… We still have work to do in the fight against corruption. We need to make the economy more stable and developed. And this is my commitment to you. All of this is found in the report. But beyond them are human relations and this is what I wanted to tell you: I truly appreciate you, your team and the people of the Republic of Moldova who are demonstrating that it is possible to defeat Russia - and I’m so happy about this!!”
Roberta Metsola Visits Chisinau
President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola visited Chisinau on November 7th and addressed parliament. She began her speech in Romanian with “Dear Europeans” and went on to congratulate Moldovans on their 3rd election in a row choosing a path of EU integration. During her ...
This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.