Three European leaders undertook a diplomatic visit to Moldova designed to show support for Chisinau in its bid to join the European Union—and to signal their hostility to Russia.
The visit, commencing Thursday, August 28, coincides with 34 years of Moldovan post-Soviet independence. Ahead of elections, Moldovan president Maia Sandu treated the visit as evidence of the credibility of the EU accession process. Sandu has referendum results on her side, following a vote to enshrine the goal of EU membership in the constitution.
Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Poland’s
Donald Tusk each conveyed the necessary messaging: Moldova is both logically at home in the EU and menaced by Russia. All expressed their support for neighbouring Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Ahead of the September 28 elections, President Sandu’s censorious PAS party is struggling at the polls and could lose its parliamentary majority, which could well derail its international ambitions. Opposition leaders staged separate Independence Day celebrations and condemned the EU visit as an affront to the country’s sovereignty.
