- 2 months ago
Sandu calls on EU to ‘get creative’ in speeding up process for Moldova to join bloc
The president of Moldova urges the European Union to find “creative” solutions to break the impasse and speed up its membership to the EU.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/11/06/sandu-calls-on-eu-to-get-creative-in-speeding-up-process-for-moldova-to-join-bloc
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The president of Moldova urges the European Union to find “creative” solutions to break the impasse and speed up its membership to the EU.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/11/06/sandu-calls-on-eu-to-get-creative-in-speeding-up-process-for-moldova-to-join-bloc
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to the Europe Conversation.
00:09My guest today is Moldova's President Maya Sandu.
00:13Thank you very much for being with us on Euronews.
00:17Of course, when you run for the election, and you clearly won that election in very difficult circumstances,
00:24a choice was very clear.
00:26Whoever voted for Maya Sandu was voting for Europe, and it was voting to join the European Union.
00:30The obvious question may be, perhaps it seems obvious to you, but why is it such an existential question for your country?
00:37Well, first of all, because Moldova wants to continue to be a democratic country, wants to be part of the free world.
00:45And, of course, because of the security threats that we have been experiencing,
00:49because of the hybrid war that we have been experiencing, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
00:57So, because we want to be part of the free world, and the membership of EU would allow us to achieve that.
01:07One of the questions, obviously, when it comes to enlargement is that you wish to join,
01:11the EU wants to take you in, but there's hurdles in between, and that can get extended, and it becomes very difficult.
01:17What is the concern for you if this process doesn't move fast enough?
01:21Because I'm sure you think about this at night.
01:23Well, of course, the first question is for us, because we have now an excellent political opportunity.
01:32We have significant popular support, but also we have significant commitment in all state institutions
01:39to implement the EU reforms, and it would be a pity to lose this time.
01:47But also, you know, we won the battle this time at the previous three elections,
01:53but it doesn't mean that Russia is going to give up on Moldova.
01:56And if we want more security in the region, if we want more security for Europe, but also for Ukraine,
02:05we need to make sure that we don't lose time in Moldova, and we consolidate our country and our democracy.
02:11If you don't join the European Union, do you believe there is a threat to the sovereignty of your country,
02:15and ultimately this leaves you totally at the mercy of Russia?
02:18Of course.
02:19You know, it's not easy.
02:21We have, in the last 12 months, we had two national elections and a referendum,
02:27and we have seen an unprecedented influence, external influence from Russia.
02:33It was not easy for us to deal with so many challenges,
02:38but we knew that Europe is helping us, is next to us,
02:42and that we have an objective to become a new member state.
02:45If we don't deliver in the next three years, we have the presidential elections in three years,
02:51and then parliamentary elections, then what's going to be the message to the people?
02:55Because you might have the situation that the government has delivered,
02:59and we have seen, even in today's report, I haven't seen the report,
03:02but I've seen some statements, including by Commissioner Kost,
03:06that Moldova did manage to show significant progress.
03:10So if you deliver at home, but you don't see progress on behalf of the EU,
03:16then, of course, this creates significant risks for Moldova
03:19and for the rest of the countries in the region.
03:22And you mentioned the report that was put out by the European Commission
03:25with the recommendations, of course.
03:27They say that you're making huge progress, again, in difficult circumstances,
03:30and they also say you're ready to open all clusters in November.
03:34The obvious question is, why has this not been done before?
03:37It's almost the end of the year.
03:38That's a question to the EU.
03:40We have been ready since February to open the negotiations on the first cluster,
03:45and now the EU says that we can open all the clusters.
03:48And I do understand that there are all kinds of solutions,
03:51but the EU also needs to have a timetable to take a decision,
03:54a deadline to take a decision on this.
03:57Otherwise, they can discuss, you know, for a long time.
04:01And I have to ask you a follow-up question,
04:03because some believe, of course, in Brussels,
04:04that the concern is not so much Moldova, the issue, but is Ukraine.
04:08And many look at the Moldovan bid and the Ukrainian bid as joint bids, as twins.
04:14You apply it almost at the same time.
04:16Is that how you see it?
04:17Well, the documents say that it's a merit-based approach,
04:21and we do believe in a merit-based approach,
04:24and it should be both for Moldova and Ukraine, and for the rest of the countries.
04:27As we could see in the reports, both countries are ready to move to the next step.
04:32So it's now really up to the EU to adopt a decision and to move forward.
04:38And at that point, however, of course, there's the elephant in the room in Brussels.
04:42Just a final point on this.
04:43The issue with the clusters and the negotiation is because, in a way,
04:47Moldova is now in the cross-battle between Ukraine and Hungary.
04:52There's a veto along the way.
04:54Many look at it as a joint bid.
04:55The two need to move together, but Ukraine has serious problems now moving forward
04:58because of this veto.
05:00Is there a way that this can be solved?
05:03Is there an overcoming?
05:04Would you be okay with that?
05:05I believe that there are solutions, but, again,
05:07these are to be taken by the EU member states and by the EU institutions.
05:12It's not easy, but if the EU becomes a little bit more creative,
05:17and if EU wants to solve this issue, I'm sure it can solve it.
05:21And then, of course, we have to talk briefly about the election campaign,
05:24because what happened in your country, and it has been documented,
05:28it's an unprecedented interference in an election.
05:31Now that there's been time to settle after the election took place,
05:33what is the sense that you perceive?
05:35What are the threats that you see moving on forward?
05:37And, again, is there something that you learned from this campaign and this election,
05:40which I repeat, it's not the only one,
05:42but, again, it put the focus on there is interference going on in European elections?
05:46Well, it's easy in Moldova to see Russia's interference because it's been brutal,
05:51and most of the citizens have seen it.
05:54There were many dimensions, of course, the disinformation and manipulation
05:59and trying to threat the people with the war,
06:02that if you vote for the EU, then what is happening today to Ukraine is going to happen to you.
06:06attempts to discredit the Moldovan state and the Moldovan authorities,
06:12attempts to organize violent protests,
06:15the illegal financing of political parties and campaigns,
06:18and even attempts to buy votes.
06:21So the influence was so brutal that everybody could see it.
06:25In other countries, in EU countries, of course,
06:28Russia cannot do all the things that it is doing in Moldova,
06:31but the influence can be also very damaging and for the people not to see it
06:37because when it's about manipulation of information and disinformation,
06:41it's much more difficult to see it.
06:43In our case, what helped, and we have learned the lesson of last year's elections,
06:48was prevention and exposure.
06:50The state institutions worked very hard to follow the money from January 1st
06:55until the day of the elections
06:57to sanction those who were using Russian money in the elections
07:03to finance political parties.
07:05Their campaigns were attempts to buy votes.
07:08Also, the independent media in Moldova did a very good job
07:11by exposing how Russia was hiring people for their troll farms
07:16and how they were producing this information content and distributing it.
07:21So it was a whole-of-society effort,
07:23but again, it was easier for us to make people aware of these risks
07:30and then people knew that what was at stake.
07:34It's more difficult in countries where this influence by Russia is not that brutal.
07:39And, President, of course, with all due respect,
07:41many would say this is not really new.
07:43This is back from the Soviet playbook.
07:45If there's a way to interfere, they would try to do that.
07:48The issue now, and perhaps why it's magnified,
07:50it's because the West is not being strong enough.
07:53In your view, is the West being weak?
07:55Is there an issue with the leadership?
07:58Well, I do believe that for a long time,
08:02you didn't take seriously Russia's danger.
08:06And I do believe that now the biggest problem is with the online disinformation
08:11because we do have regulations of the audiovisual,
08:16but what happens online,
08:18and I'm talking about the inauthentic accounts,
08:22what is not genuine people's views,
08:28what is amplified, again, with money coming from Russia,
08:32this is the most damaging part,
08:35and I think everybody should take it seriously.
08:38Can I ask you a question,
08:39which was not really at all something that I planned on asking,
08:42but now that you mentioned the digital
08:43and the things that you see on social media,
08:45I remember the Vice President of the United States said,
08:47if your democracy can be unsettled by a bunch of TikToks,
08:50maybe that your democracy is not that strong at all.
08:52He said that at the Munich Security Conference.
08:54Is that something that you think it's fair,
08:56or you go actually know what we're seeing now,
08:57it's unprecedented?
08:58You've never seen a country like Moldova,
09:00small country, dealing with this amount of pressure?
09:02Again, when this is genuine,
09:04when it's a genuine dialogue of people online,
09:08that's one thing,
09:09but in Moldova we had an example
09:11when BBC infiltrated one of these troll farms,
09:14and they accounted for 100 accounts on TikTok,
09:18which distributed videos,
09:21which reached 55 million views
09:26in a country of 2.4 million people.
09:29So I'm talking about inauthentic account
09:33and amplified content using illegal money.
09:37This is where we need to look into
09:39because this has nothing to do with democracy.
09:41And I want to go back into the specifics
09:43of the process of enlargement
09:44because the Commission is saying,
09:46and for some,
09:47this is basically around the corner,
09:492028, you blink and we'll be in that year.
09:51You're ready to close the negotiations.
09:53You could be in a position to do that,
09:54but how do you do that so fast in two years
09:57when we've seen the real difficulties?
09:59I mean, we're in November,
10:00the clusters are not really moving.
10:01How is that going to change in the next two years?
10:04Well, we have shown that we are ready
10:07and we can do a lot of work
10:08in a short period of time.
10:11And we are very committed
10:12and we understand that there is a lot
10:13that we still need to do.
10:15But we also want to see the same determination
10:18on the part of the EU to find the solutions.
10:21In the past,
10:23every time the enlargement was happening,
10:25the EU had to come up
10:26with unorthodox decisions
10:28and they've managed to do it.
10:30So it's really about the creativity
10:33but also of the commitment of the EU
10:36to find the solutions.
10:37You know, that's a perfect segue
10:38because there's a big debate
10:40around the idea of unanimity.
10:41Unanimity, obviously,
10:42in this process is absolutely clear and needed.
10:45No country will join it.
10:46The 27 don't agree.
10:47But there's a debate introduced
10:49by the head of the European Council
10:50who said maybe some parts
10:51could be unanimous,
10:53maybe others just require majority.
10:55When you look at unanimity,
10:56is that something that you think
10:57the EU could get creative?
10:59Yes, I believe it should get creative.
11:02And I do believe that it's not easy
11:05with internal reforms.
11:06But these are not the first
11:08internal reforms of the EU.
11:09It has managed to do them in the past
11:11because it wanted.
11:13So I'm sure that it can find solutions now as well.
11:17It's in the interest of the EU as well.
11:19You cannot allow for some dozen countries
11:22to be used by authoritarian regimes
11:27against the EU
11:28because this is what's going to happen
11:30if there is not going to be a real perspective
11:33for the EU integration,
11:34for those who are working hard
11:36to meet the EU standards.
11:38Do they understand that?
11:39Because I know you've said
11:40we need now from now on clarity,
11:41but also engagement.
11:42Do they understand that?
11:43Or they go,
11:44obviously you're loving for your country,
11:45you have to say that.
11:46Well, we've been talking
11:48and I'm using my time here in Brussels,
11:51of course,
11:52to talk to member countries,
11:55but also to EU officials
11:57to find solutions.
11:59Do you think something around this
12:00could change in the next few months?
12:02I know it's a difficult question,
12:03but did they give you an...
12:03It should.
12:03I really hope this is going to happen.
12:06We need solutions in the next few months.
12:09And did they give you an indication
12:11however when it comes to unanimity,
12:12the clusters,
12:13how to move forward?
12:14It's different to wish to an indication.
12:16Was there an indication?
12:17Well, we will continue to push
12:19for clear solutions
12:20and clear deadlines
12:21for the solutions to be enforced.
12:23And then I want to go into
12:25some of the reforms
12:26because they also say,
12:26obviously,
12:27there needs to be reforms,
12:28internal reforms,
12:29which are those that you allude to,
12:30unanimity and how to work within the EU,
12:33but also the external reforms.
12:34And when it comes to Moldova,
12:35they also say
12:36there are ways in your economy
12:37that you need to open up.
12:38It needs to be much more transparent.
12:40I know there's a conversation
12:41about there's Soviet practices
12:43that still remain
12:44and they're difficult to erase.
12:45What do you think
12:46is the biggest problem?
12:47And also,
12:47what do you say to Europeans
12:48who go,
12:49I know very little about these countries.
12:51What I hear is not very positive.
12:53Why should they join?
12:55Well, I just said
12:56why we should join
12:57because if you don't support us
12:59to stay a democratic country
13:01and participate to the stability
13:04and security in the region,
13:05then we're going to be used by Russia
13:08and are going to be used against Ukraine
13:10and the EU countries in the region.
13:13We do have important reforms to implement.
13:17Justice sector reform
13:17is one of the reforms,
13:19which is not easy,
13:19but we have made progress,
13:20especially with the external,
13:22extraordinary evaluation
13:23of judges and prosecutors,
13:24which is about integrity
13:26of judges and prosecutors.
13:27We have made progress
13:29in fighting corruption
13:30and also the Moldovan people
13:32can see the first results.
13:34So we should continue
13:35with this reform.
13:36It's not easy.
13:37We have made significant progress
13:38in the energy sector.
13:40Four years ago,
13:41we were 100% dependent
13:43on Russian gas.
13:44Today,
13:44we don't consume any Russian gas
13:45with the exception
13:46of Transnistrian region.
13:48We are going to finish
13:50by the end of this month
13:51the first high-voltage
13:53electricity connection line
13:54with Romania,
13:55which is going to connect us
13:56directly to the EU market.
13:58And talking about timetable,
14:02I can give you examples
14:03when EU kept telling us
14:05that we need several years
14:06to connect to ENSOE,
14:08and then when the war started,
14:09we connected to ENSOE
14:10in just one week.
14:12I can give you an example
14:13when EU would tell you
14:15that to have an agreement
14:16with Frontex,
14:19you need a year.
14:20We managed to sign
14:21an agreement with Frontex
14:22in one week.
14:24So when EU institutions
14:25want this,
14:27they can make it happen
14:28very quickly.
14:30And just going back
14:31to Moldovan again,
14:32going up to the economy,
14:33one of the points
14:33that is also made
14:34is that the economy
14:35needs to get much stronger
14:36to be on an equal footing
14:38to the rest.
14:39Yours is a country,
14:40obviously,
14:40by GDP that ranks
14:41the lowest among Europe
14:43and maybe would-be EU members.
14:46How do you see that evolving?
14:47Because as it stands,
14:47and going back
14:48to the European population,
14:49they can go and say,
14:50we are just too different.
14:52The numbers show that.
14:54Well, first of all,
14:54the Moldovan economy
14:55has been affected
14:57significantly by the war.
14:59It's difficult
15:00to attract investors
15:01when you have
15:02the war next door.
15:04And of course,
15:05there is also
15:05the demographics.
15:06One-third of Moldovan
15:07population is broad,
15:09and most of these people
15:10are in the EU countries.
15:11They're already
15:12contributing here
15:13and paying taxes.
15:14One-third of the Moldovan
15:15population has already
15:17EU passports.
15:19So, you know,
15:20we are almost there.
15:23We just need to
15:25make it official.
15:27Of course,
15:28we have to improve
15:29our economic situation.
15:30We are working hard.
15:31We're improving
15:32the business environment.
15:33But given the war in Ukraine,
15:36it's not going to be
15:36that easy for us
15:38to make miracles
15:40in the next few years.
15:42But with support from EU,
15:44we have been able
15:45to maintain
15:46the living standards.
15:47And now,
15:48after these elections,
15:50we do have
15:51higher chances
15:52to bring Moldovans back,
15:55but also to bring
15:56more investments.
15:57And as you mentioned,
15:58the war in Ukraine
15:59obviously had an impact
16:00on your country.
16:00It also had an impact
16:01on all of the European countries
16:02and the EU countries
16:03through energy.
16:04But I wonder specifically,
16:05when you look at your process,
16:07do you go,
16:08we are conditioned
16:09to some extent
16:09by the war,
16:10if the war in Ukraine
16:11does not end
16:12in the next three years,
16:13does that have an impact
16:14on the material progress
16:15you can make?
16:16Because some would argue
16:17the uncertainty remains.
16:20Yes, that's true.
16:21The uncertainty remains,
16:22but it doesn't mean
16:24that we cannot improve
16:26our economic situation.
16:27Some of the investors
16:29will not come to Moldova,
16:30but some are already coming.
16:32And this is also
16:33a contribution
16:35or the result
16:37of the policies
16:38that we have been implementing.
16:40So in any way,
16:40you don't think
16:41if this war continues,
16:42and of course,
16:43it's very difficult
16:43to put a date on it,
16:44no one knows
16:45when this war will end
16:46or how,
16:47you don't see a way
16:48that this can destabilize
16:49your bid?
16:50You think that you can
16:50stay on your track
16:51even if all of this
16:52is happening?
16:53Well, of course,
16:54we are very grateful
16:54to the Ukrainian people
16:57and to the countries
16:59which support Ukraine,
17:00and this is one
17:01of the conditions
17:02for Ukraine to resist
17:04and for the EU
17:04and the democratic world
17:06to continue to support Ukraine.
17:08Otherwise,
17:08the war, of course,
17:09continues to be a threat
17:11to Moldova
17:12and not only to Moldova.
17:14And just lastly,
17:15of course,
17:15you will be meeting
17:16with different European officials.
17:18Obviously,
17:19this report has come out.
17:20A lot of the work
17:20will now be dictated
17:21by a timeline.
17:23We've talked about
17:23what they demand of you,
17:25but I wonder,
17:25in your conversations,
17:26what is it that you
17:27will be asking from them
17:28in priorities,
17:29one, two, three,
17:30that can be done
17:30over the next year,
17:32so specific matters
17:33that can move?
17:34Well, for now,
17:35it's opening the negotiations
17:37on all the clusters
17:38as they have said
17:39in the report
17:40that we are ready,
17:41so this is what should happen.
17:42President,
17:43would you consider that
17:44a failure of the EU
17:45before the end of the year?
17:46I don't want to think
17:47about failures.
17:49I want to believe
17:50that by the end of this year,
17:51the EU is going
17:52to find solutions.
17:54For all of the clusters?
17:55For all the clusters.
17:56And then lastly,
17:57just when you look
17:57at next year,
17:58if you just go
17:59in an order of priorities,
18:00this is what we would like
18:01to see what is it
18:03that you will be asking.
18:04And not just general ideas,
18:05but just specific things
18:06that you say
18:07when we need engagement,
18:08what does that mean practically?
18:10Is it more meetings?
18:11Is it delegations going there?
18:12Is it more dialogue,
18:13direct dialogue?
18:15No, we really need
18:16to now sit and work.
18:18We need to get
18:19the closing benchmarks
18:20from the EU,
18:23and these closing benchmarks
18:24need to be agreed
18:25by all the member states
18:27so that we could work
18:28very seriously
18:29in the next two years.
18:31on meeting
18:32these closing benchmarks.
18:33And of course,
18:34the support
18:35that we might need
18:36for some of the reforms
18:37based on the agreements
18:38we're going to make.
18:39And just lastly,
18:40when you look at 2030,
18:41maybe even 2035,
18:42what do you see?
18:44Well, in 2030,
18:45I see Moldova part
18:46of the EU.
18:47Well, President,
18:47thank you very much
18:48for joining us.
18:49And of course,
18:50that was Maya Sandu,
18:51my guest
18:52in this year of Conversation.
18:53Thank you very much.
18:54We must build
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