La presidente della Moldavia Maia Sandu: “Per noi l’adesione all’UE non è un sogno ma una strategia di sopravvivenza come Stato democratico”
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/04/29/moldovan-president-maia-sandu-for-us-joining-the-eu-is-not-a-dream-but-a-survival-strategy-as-a-democratic-state_6752957_4.html
di LeMonde_en
8 commenti
Maia Sandu has served as president of Moldova since 2020 and was re-elected for a second term in 2024. Her country, with a population of 2.8 million, is one of nine states officially applying for membership in the European Union (EU).
**Are you optimistic about Moldova’s accession to the EU by 2030?**
We have made a commitment to our people that we will have the country ready for EU integration by 2030. We have been working very hard. Of course, there are still important reforms that we need to finalize, but we’re working on all of them. Fighting corruption and reforming justice has been the main commitment not only with respect to the EU, but also and especially with respect to our citizens. I do believe that we are seeing the first results. We are seeing convictions in cases of big corruption.
**Some member states are hesitant about Ukraine joining the EU, while Moldova and Ukraine are supposed to join at the same time. Could this affect your country’s accession?**
We hope that now that there have been elections in Hungary, there is going to be a change of the situation and most countries will be able to open. We are very grateful for the support of France and President Macron for our country.
This is a merit-based process. We’re not asking for shortcuts. It is important for us to move or to become part of the EU sooner rather than later, because the longer we are outside the EU, the longer pressure has to undermine our sovereignty, our state, our democracy, to weaken us and then to use us again against our neighbors, Ukraine, but also the EU member states. For us, it’s not just a dream; it’s a survival strategy as a democratic state. We’ve been resilient; we will continue to be resilient. But in the current environment, for a small country that is not part of a big democratic family, it is becoming more and more difficult.
**Do you consider joining separately from Ukraine?**
It’s in our interest to see the enlargement when it comes to Moldova, Ukraine and the Western Balkans. I do believe that the bigger the better. If you leave spots in our region, on our continent, where you don’t have the European democracy, then you create risks that these spots are going to be used by authoritarian regimes and will be used not only against the citizens of our countries, but against the citizens of the EU.
**In January, you stated that you would vote yes in a referendum on reunifying Moldova with Romania. Your prime minister, Alexandru Munteanu, and the Romanian head of government, Ilie Bolojan, made the same statement. Is this conceivable?**
That would make our EU integration very quick. That will help us. Those who know our history and know that before the Molotov Pact, [the German-Soviet pact of 1939], what is today the Republic of Moldova was part of Romania, would not be very surprised. Moldova is a democratic country and such decisions can be taken only with the majority of people. There is support from the majority of Moldovans for EU integration, and some 40% support the reunification with Romania.
They should better join Romania.
Moldova deserves EU membership like no other country. Small and not very wealthy state in Europe, that stayed open to Ukrainian refugees wave in 2022+ and people helped them without hesitation. This is something that hasn’t been said aloud enought in media so far.
Fingercrossed for all your reform/effort and see you really soon in 🇪🇺 .
Honestly, I think the biggest thing they could do (I’m gonna get downvoted to fuck here) is enter open, honest talks with Transnistria about possibly allowing it to remain independent.
If a people want to be separate, I’m not sure any group, especially the group they separated from, have a right to tell them they can’t. Say “Hold a referendum, and as long as its free and fair, we’ll respect the outcome, regardless of our own wants or feelings on it.”
I’m convinced it will happen in time. Montenegro’s next, followed either by Bosnia or Ukraine will get to jump to the head of the line. Then Moldova will be completely surrounded by EU (and probably NATO too) and they’ll want to fill in the hole. It’ll happen someday hopefully not too terribly long from now
It will not be accepted in Europe as long as the Transnistria problem is not solved
as a brit – same.
First of all, paywalls suck.
Second – meh. She’s not necessarily wrong, but she is only saying this because Moldova being accepted into EU is Maia’s only chance to escape the corner she painted herself into. She and her party, PAS, have completely fucked up the already fucked up economy while constantly bombarding the population with *”EU means prosperity!!1!1″* propaganda which conventiently omits the fact that “joining EU” does not equal “free unlimited money”. Both 2024 presidential and 2025 parliamentary elections were only won by her and PAS due to votes from abroad. PAS is drafting an administrative reform which sole purpose is to gerrymander the living hell out of country. Sandu and PAS are talentless, incompetent and corrupt fraudsters whose only saving grace is that their opposition are even more talentless, even more incompetent and even more corruot fraudsters, and Sandu saying “EU is good for Moldova” is an example of broken clock being right twice a day.