Eugeniu Osmochescu accepts position of Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry

Eugeniu Osmochescu has accepted Prime Minister Vasile Tofan’s proposal to take over the position of Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry. The announcement was made by Osmochescu in a social media post.

The designated minister says that agriculture is a strategic sector for the Republic of Moldova, both from the perspective of economic development and of the process of harmonizing legislation with that of the European Union.

“It is a complex mission – to transform agriculture into a modern, technology-driven economic engine, with a focus on increasing competitiveness and productivity,” said Osmochescu.

Among his priorities are strengthening agriculture’s resilience to climate change, better-targeted financing of the sector, and investments with the highest possible impact on farmers’ productivity and competitiveness.

Osmochescu emphasizes that the Republic of Moldova’s closer alignment with the European Union will open new funding opportunities for agriculture, including through the Common Agricultural Policy. In his view, the authorities must prepare the sector to fully benefit from future European financial instruments and ensure alignment with EU standards.

“We must be prepared. We need to strengthen resilience to climate change, finance the sector in a targeted and fair way, invest with maximum impact, and align ourselves with European standards,” he noted.

Osmochescu also sent a message to Claudiu Năsui, nominated as Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, expressing his confidence that Năsui will continue the process of cutting red tape, advancing digitalization, and opening the institution further to the business community.

Osmochescu also thanked the team at the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, with whom he says he has worked in recent months to simplify regulations and remove bureaucratic barriers.

“We continue to work as a team with the same objective: a strong economy, high-performing agriculture, a European state,” concluded Eugeniu Osmochescu.

Eugeniu Osmochescu has more than 25 years of experience in designing and implementing public policies and economic development strategies. He has worked within the World Bank Group, where he coordinated economic reform programs in several countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with a focus on investment, digitalization, SME development, and regulatory reform. In the Republic of Moldova, he contributed to drafting the Fiscal Code, modernizing legislation on special economic zones, digitalizing administrative processes, and harmonizing the regulatory framework with EU, OECD, and WTO standards.

Eugeniu Osmochescu holds a PhD in International Law of Moldova State University, obtained in 2005. In 1997, he completed a master’s program in Comparative and European Law at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and in 1994 he obtained his law degree of Moldova State University. In 2025, he supplemented his studies with a diploma in Business Sustainability from Glasgow Caledonian University.

The portfolio of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry became vacant after the resignation of Radu Musteața, who left office just a few days after the inauguration of the government led by Vasile Tofan.

Musteața submitted his resignation on July 24, 2026, and the prime minister accepted it, describing the decision as “an act of responsibility” meant to protect public trust in the government.

The resignation followed a controversy regarding Musteața’s political past and reports that he had ties with the former Democratic Party of Moldova. Initially, Musteața rejected the accusations, but later admitted that he had, for a period, attended PDM meetings and had signed an application to join the party.