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.
Moldova,officially the Republic of Moldova,is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe,on the northeastern corner of the Balkans. The country spans a total of 33,483 km2 (12,928 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 2.5 million as of January 2023. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north,east,and south. The unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester river on the country's eastern border with Ukraine. Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic with its capital in Chișinău,the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.
The Government of Moldova is the government of the Republic of Moldova. It is housed on the Government House at the Great National Assembly Square in Chișinău,the capital of Moldova. Currently,the President of Moldova is Maia Sandu,while the Prime Minister of Moldova is Dorin Recean. The current ruling cabinet of Moldova is the cabinet of Dorin Recean,incumbent since 16 February 2023.
The European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new member states to the Union. To join the EU,a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria,which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law,and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty,each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. This term is also used to refer to the intensification of co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws.
The prime minister of Moldova is Moldova's head of government. The prime minister is formally appointed by the president of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the cabinet,subject to parliamentary support. Dorin Recean has been serving as prime minister since 16 February 2023 following the dissolution of the Gavrilița cabinet which took place during the same month.
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.
Albania is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the European Union (EU). It applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009,and has since June 2014 been an official candidate for accession. The Council of the European Union decided in March 2020 to open accession negotiations with Albania.
The accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union (EU) is the stated aim of the present relations between the two entities. Bosnia and Herzegovina has been recognised by the European Union as a "candidate country" for accession since the decision of the European Council in 2022 and is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Bosnia and Herzegovina takes part in the Stabilisation and Association Process and trade relations are regulated by an Interim Agreement.
The Cabinet of Moldova is the chief executive body of the Government of Moldova. Its function according to the Constitution of Moldova is "to carry out the domestic and foreign policy of the State and to apply general control over the work of public administration".
There are nine recognised candidates for membership of the European Union:Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Georgia,Moldova,Montenegro,North Macedonia,Serbia,Turkey,and Ukraine. Kosovo formally submitted its application for membership in 2022 and is considered a potential candidate by the European Union.
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 and politician 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 accession of Moldova to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU.
Marija PejčinovićBurić is a Croatian politician of the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union party who served as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and First Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia from 2017 to 2019. She was the third woman to hold the post of foreign minister,following Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovićand Vesna Pusić. PejčinovićBurićpreviously served as a Member of Parliament during its Sixth Assembly (2008–2011),representing the 6th electoral district.
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 - 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.
The Supreme Security Council (SSC) (Romanian:Consiliul Suprem de Securitate,CSS) is an advisory body to the President of Moldova (concurrently the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Moldovan Armed Forces) which aides and assists the President in the implementation of military policy and national security decisions. Its authority is vested in the Constitution of Moldova. The President is one of many permanent members of the council and chairs all of its meetings. Permanent members of the council since October 2009 have included the following:
Andrei Spinu is a Moldovan entrepreneur and politician,who was Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova in the Government of Gavrilița and currently serves as Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Recean Cabinet.
On 18 September 2022,protests in Moldova began in the capital city of Chișinău,demanding the resignation of the country's pro-Western government,amid an energy crisis causing rising natural gas prices and inflation,caused in part by the war in Ukraine.
Starting in late 2022,Moldova suffered an energy crisis,the worst since its independence. Hugely influenced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine,caused when Russia's Gazprom reduced supplies.
