EU pledges billions in support as Moldova faces crucial elections

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Moldovans to participate in two crucial upcoming elections and announced that the European Union has allocated 1.8 billion euros ($1.97 billion) in financial support to the economy of one of the most poor countries in Europe in the next three years.

Pro-Western President Maia Sandu is running for a second term on October 20, when voters will also have their say in a referendum on joining the 27-state European Union.

Von der Leyen, who traveled to Moldova on October 10, in a show of support for the country’s European aspirations, encouraged Moldovans at a joint press conference with Sandu to go to the polls to express their “free and sovereign choice”, but did not stop to tell them how to vote.

Under the US-educated Sandu, who came to power after defeating Russian-backed incumbent Igor Dodon in 2020, Moldova made a U-turn towards the West, condemning Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and joining the sanctions regime of the EU against the Kremlin.

Moldova secured EU candidate status in June 2022 and opened accession negotiations with the bloc earlier this year, steps that have prompted Russia to step up attempts to undermine the credibility of the Moldovan government and present Moscow as a better alternative. good for the future of Chisinau.

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Von der Leyen said that “Moldova’s place is in the European Union”, and membership of the bloc could contribute to “doubling the country’s economy in the next 10 years”.

She said the €1.8 billion package would be used to invest in “areas that will generate economic growth and public services”, such as repairing schools, building two new hospitals in the towns of Balti and Cahul, building roads and bridges to connect Moldova with its neighbors, but also the development of the country’s energy network.

The two votes are seen as a turning point for the future of Moldova, a country of 2.5 million wedged between Romania and Ukraine, where Russia still wields massive influence and maintains more than 1,000 troops in the 33-year-old breakaway Transnistrian region. after Chisinau declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Von der Leyen praised Sandu for “how committed” she was to “Moldova’s European path” and for the progress made by the Republic of Moldova towards joining the EU and mentioned “initiating reforms of the judicial system, the fight against corruption and the expulsion the oligarchs. from the economic sector”.

Sandu called the financial support package “a symbol of confidence in the development potential of the Republic of Moldova”.

“Thank you, dear Ursula, for the support given to the Republic of Moldova all these years,” said Sandu.

Via RFE/RL

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