European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Moldova ahead of a referendum on future EU membership, supporting current pro-Western and EU president Maia Sandu.
Von der Leyen urged Moldovans to vote freely, joking that “of course, speaking as President of the European Commission, I believe that Moldova’s place is in our European Union.”
The referendum is scheduled for October 20 together with the presidential election, where Sandu will seek a second four-year term to helm the country. The question in the referendum is whether EU membership should be added as a “strategic goal” in Moldova’s constitution.
During her speech, von der Leyen underlined that the EU is supporting Moldova and is going to invest €1.8 billion over the next three years to help boost Moldovan economy. She said that “we will focus these investments on sectors that will generate economic growth and public services,” mentioning investments in schools, hospitals, infrastructure and energy network. Her words were echoed by Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov, who added that “this plan is aimed at supporting reforms, investing in infrastructure, railways, and increasing energy efficiency.”
Moldova received candidate status in 2022 and started formal accession negotiations in June 2024. Von der Leyen mentioned how much the country has done since, with judiciary reforms and anti-corruption measures going together with closer ties with the EU single market. Sandu confirmed the high importance of ties with the EU, saying that 65% of its exports currently go to the bloc. The outgoing president hopes that Moldova could join the EU by 2030.
Sandu is currently ahead of her 10 opponents for the presidency, according to latest polls. Her pro-Western and pro-EU stance put her and the country on a collision course with Russia. Sandu condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Her government accused Russia of interfering with the country and conspiring to overthrow the government and recently Moldovan police revealed that it found evidence of strong Russian interference in the build-up of the election.
