Daniel Vodă: Withdrawal from CIS most important foreign policy decision in first 100 days of Munteanu Government

One hundred days after investiture, the Government led by Alexandru Munteanu can claim a foreign policy decision of historic significance – the initiation of the procedure for Moldova’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The statement belongs to Daniel Vodă, expert of the Institute for Policy and Reforms (IPRE), who believes that although belated, this step represents a necessary legal and political clarification for ensuring the coherence of the country’s European path.


“Even though this decision is a late one and could have been taken back during the pro-European governments after 2009, it marks a necessary moment of legal and political clarification. The benefits of CIS agreements had already been analyzed and practically emptied of content under the mandates of the previous governments – Recean and Gavrilița, and the current move is essentially a symbolic and extremely important one, meant to eliminate the dissonance between the declared ambition of European integration and the formal belonging to an organization that has become a geopolitical wreck,” Vodă underlined.




The authorities of the Republic of Moldova announced their intention to leave the CIS as early as December 2023. Previously, Georgia withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2008, and Ukraine in 2018.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi announced that the Republic of Moldova will definitively leave the CIS by the end of the year. The process of denouncing the fundamental agreements that formed the basis of accession to the CIS is in its final stage, and the state is to pay a debt of approximately 100,000 euros. 

According to Popșoi, in the coming weeks the governmental procedures will be finalized, after which the denouncement bill will be sent to Parliament for debate and vote. Subsequently, the documents will be promulgated by the President, published in the Official Journal and sent to the CIS Secretariat. From the perspective of international law, after notification there follows a period of approximately six months, at the end of which the Republic of Moldova will no longer have the legal status of CIS member state.

“It is a historic decision,” Mihai Popșoi emphasized, noting that this organization has become “a suitcase without a handle” that no longer brings real benefits to the country. The minister recalled that citizens have clearly spoken in favor of the European path, and membership in structures that no longer correspond to national interests must be abandoned.

Daniel Vodă stresses that relations with neighbors remain essential for the credibility of Moldova’s foreign policy.


“Romania is the main advocate, strategic partner and supporter of our country’s European path. Bilateral projects on infrastructure, energy and connectivity must remain in the focus of the two states’ diplomacies, including in order to ensure the consistent implementation of the understandings agreed upon at the high political level,” the expert maintains.


At the same time, Ukraine is seen as a major benchmark for regional security. The expert notes that peace negotiations and international efforts to end the war must constitute a direct strategic interest for the Republic of Moldova, which has the responsibility to firmly support Ukraine in obtaining a just and lasting peace.

In his analysis, Daniel Vodă recommends that the Republic of Moldova should constantly refer to the experience of the Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – which have turned firm geopolitical decisions into concrete results in terms of security, development and European integration. At the same time, the examples of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria are invoked as models of proactive diplomacy anchored in economic and security interests, as well as the need for a strategic rapprochement with the states of the Balkans.

On the broader relations dimension, the expert notes that the first 100 days were marked by the continuation of efforts to get closer to the United States of America, recalling the announcements on financial support of approximately 135 million dollars for energy infrastructure and another 35 million for the security sector. Nevertheless, he finds a lack of consistent bilateral political contacts that would consolidate a stable strategic dialogue.

From this perspective, Daniel Vodă believes that relations with the USA and G7 states, including Canada and Japan, should become an explicit priority of Moldovan diplomacy, as these are partnerships based on shared values.

The expert also draws attention to the need for a more coherent activation of economic and cultural diplomacy, both within and outside the traditional European space, through closer alignment with the directions of the European Union’s foreign policy in regions with investment potential, such as China, India, South Korea, the Middle East or Latin America.

At the same time, he notes the existence of a dissonance between the foreign affairs mandate and the European integration mandate of Moldovan diplomacy, which still function too much in parallel. In his view, diplomacy should focus more clearly on tangible results: benefits for entrepreneurs, functional agreements for the diaspora and external partnerships that add value to the European integration effort.


“The next stage will test Munteanu Government’s capacity to turn symbolic decisions into foreign policies with real impact on the economy and society. The mobilization and success of Moldovan economic diplomacy can be real support for the investment attraction agenda promised by this Government,” Daniel Vodă concluded.


The Government led by Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu received the Parliament’s vote of confidence on October 31, following the parliamentary elections of September 2025. The current composition of the Cabinet was backed by 55 MPs from the parliamentary majority of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), while the opposition did not support it.