The politics of Moldova take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic,wherein the prime minister is the head of the Government of Moldova,and a multi-party system. The President of Moldova has no important powers. The government exercises executive power while the legislative power is vested in the Parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The position of the breakaway region of Transnistria,relations with Romania and with Russia,and integration into the EU dominate political discussions.
After achieving independence from the Soviet Union,the Republic of Moldova established relations with other European countries. A course for European Union integration and neutrality define the country's foreign policy guidelines.
The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is an international trade agreement between countries mostly located in Southeastern Europe. Founded by representatives of Poland,Hungary and Czechoslovakia,CEFTA in 2006 expanded to Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria,Croatia,Moldova,Montenegro,North Macedonia,Romania,Serbia,Slovenia and Kosovo.
European integration is the process of industrial,economic,political,legal,social,and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe,or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union and its policies.
Relations between the European Union (EU) and Moldova are currently shaped via the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP),an EU foreign policy instrument dealing with countries bordering its member states.
Kristian Ivanov Vigenin is a Bulgarian politician,Vice-President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria,former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria,and a former Member of the European Parliament.
The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European Union,together with its member states,and six Eastern European countries. The EaP framework governs the EU's relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia,Azerbaijan,Belarus,Georgia,Moldova,and Ukraine. The EaP is intended to provide a forum for discussions regarding trade,economic strategy,travel agreements,and other issues between the EU and its Eastern European neighbours. It also aims at building a common area of shared values of democracy,prosperity,stability,and increased cooperation. The project was initiated by Poland and a subsequent proposal was prepared in co-operation with Sweden. It was presented by the foreign ministers of Poland and Sweden at the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008. The Eastern Partnership was inaugurated by the EU in Prague,Czech Republic on 7 May 2009.
The accession of North Macedonia to the European Union has been on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU since 2005,when it became an official candidate for accession. The then Republic of Macedonia submitted its membership application in 2004,thirteen years after its independence from Yugoslavia. It is one of nine current EU candidate countries,together with Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Georgia,Moldova,Montenegro,Serbia,Turkey and Ukraine.
Austria-Moldova relations are the bilateral relations between Austria and Moldova. Both countries established the diplomatic relations on 25 March 1992. Austria is represented in Moldova through its embassy in Chișinău. Moldova has an embassy in Vienna. Austria supports Moldova's European Union membership.
The Alliance for European Integration was a centre-right,anti-communist coalition that governed Moldova from the July 2009 election until it lost to a no confidence vote in the Parliament on February 13,2013. It was succeeded by the anti-communist Pro-European Coalition.
On 1 January 2007,Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union (EU) in the fifth wave of EU enlargement.
The First Filat Cabinet was the Cabinet of Moldova between September 25,2009,and January 14,2011. It was a caretaker cabinet from the election of November 28,2010,until it was succeeded by the Second Filat Cabinet on January 14,2011.
Iurie Leancă is a Moldovan politician who was the prime minister of Moldova from 2013 until 2015. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from 2009 to 2013 as part of the First and Second Filat Cabinet.
Parliamentary elections were held in Moldova on 28 November 2010 after parliamentary vote failed to elect a President for the second time in late 2009.
The Second Filat Cabinet was the Cabinet of Moldova from 14 January 2011 to 30 May 2013. The Cabinet consisted of ministers from the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova,the Democratic Party of Moldova,and the Liberal Party,who together formed the Alliance for European Integration. It was the second government to be led by Vlad Filat who was prime minister from 2009 until 2013. The Cabinet was installed after a successful vote of confidence held in the Parliament of Moldova on 14 January 2011.
On 28 February 2022,four days after it was invaded by Russia,Ukraine applied for membership of the European Union (EU). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested immediate admission under a "new special procedure",and the presidents of eight EU states called for an accelerated accession process. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stated that she supports Ukrainian accession,but that the process would take time. On 10 March 2022,the Council of the European Union asked the commission for its opinion on the application. On 8 April 2022,von der Leyen presented Zelenskyy with a legislative questionnaire,which Ukraine responded to on 9 May.
Dorin Recean is a Moldovan economist,politician,and academic serving as Prime Minister of Moldova since February 2023. Since 2022 he has also served as Presidential Advisor on Defense and National Security,and Secretary of Moldova's Supreme Security Council. He previously served as Minister of Internal Affairs of Moldova from July 2012 to February 2015. He has extensive experience in the private sector and in the IT industry with a specialisation in data,including big data,and information analysis. He also worked in development institutions and was previously a lecturer at several universities.
The Pro-European Coalition was the ruling coalition in Moldova from 30 May 2013 until 18 February 2015. Its leaders were Vlad Filat,Marian Lupu,and Ion Hadârcă. The previous Alliance for European Integration collapsed after it lost a no confidence vote on March 5,2013. It was succeeded by the Political Alliance for a European Moldova.
The Political Alliance for a European Moldova was the pro-European governing coalition in Moldova from 18 February to 24 July 2015. On 24 July 2015,the Liberal Party (PL) joined a new majority coalition. It was succeeded by the Alliance for European Integration III.
Nicolae "Nicu" Popescu is a Moldovan author and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova from 6 August 2021 until 26 January 2024 in the Gavrilita and then Recean cabinets. He was also Moldova's Foreign Minister from 11 June to 14 November 2019 in the Sandu Cabinet. Until his appointment,he was the director of the Wider Europe programme of the European Council on Foreign Relations and visiting professor at Sciences Po-Paris.
