Republic of Moldova making progress in European integration process

CHIȘINĂU, Aug 6 /MOLDPRES/ - Completing the reforms undertaken in the process of accession to the European Union and obtaining a favorable progress report from the European Commission are the main priorities of the authorities in the coming months. President Maia Sandu said at a TV show that the Republic of Moldova must complete by September 1 the majority of the planned actions so that this autumn’s assessment allows the opening of new stages in the accession negotiations.

The head of state noted that institutions have received concrete tasks and that by the beginning of September they must fully, or at least 90%, implement the planned measures, after which they will continue implementing a new series of actions through October.

“Important for us is to have the full implementation of all actions and commitments for this autumn’s assessment. By September 1 we have to finalize several actions and I hope, because we have had several meetings including within the National Commission for European Integration and we discussed in detail with all institutions, to have a 100% or at least 90% completion rate and to continue. By October we still have a long list of actions on which we must demonstrate progress, and for us it is very important that the next progress report is good as well, because this will open the next doors for us on the path of European integration,” Maia Sandu said.

The president rejected the perception that the Republic of Moldova is being blocked in the accession process by certain EU member states.

“No state is blocking us. We have managed to open two clusters. Now we need to move to the next stage, to open the other clusters,” Maia Sandu said.

Referring to the fact that the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine are often perceived as advancing together in the accession negotiations, the head of state explained that the opening of the first cluster for both countries was a decision of the member states, as both had fulfilled their commitments.

“The member states insisted that the first cluster be opened for both countries, for the Republic of Moldova and for Ukraine, because both countries had met the conditions. But since Hungary was blocking Ukraine, it would not have been fair that when both states had fulfilled their commitments, one would be promoted and the other blocked. Beyond that point, each moves forward with its own progress. So there are chapters, clusters where we can move faster and maybe others where Ukraine can move faster. From here on, each advances according to its capacity to deliver in one field or another. And I repeat, it depends on us, and I hope we will have all the decisions in the near future,” Maia Sandu explained.

According to the president, one of the most difficult topics in the dialogue with European partners remains justice reform.

“One problem relates to justice and the fact that many positions are vacant. The explanation is objective. There are vacant positions because we are carrying out external evaluation and many judges are leaving their posts either because they do not want to undergo the external evaluation or because they fail this external evaluation. And we are trying to explain to the people at the Commission that we cannot create judges overnight and place them in these vacant positions. So this remains a subject of negotiation and explanation. Beyond that, there is a lot of work to do, but institutions are moving forward; even at the last meeting we had, I myself was satisfied with the progress,” the president said.

Maia Sandu emphasized that the Republic of Moldova is appreciated at the European level for the speed with which it is implementing reforms. The head of state pointed out that only in the first six months of the year, the Government implemented more than 300 actions provided for in the National Accession Plan and has over 150 others under implementation, results which, although less visible to the public, are essential for advancing the European integration process.

Chișinău authorities will make every effort so that the evaluation of the Republic of Moldova in the European Commission’s annual report is even better than last year’s. Speaker Igor Grosu made the statement in an exclusive interview for MOLDPRES.

“Our ambition is for this year’s report to be at least at the level of last year’s, but our intention and efforts are directed toward ensuring that the report is even better, because our further evolution in the negotiation process, in the process of signing the treaty, and the subsequent transformation of the Republic of Moldova into a member state of the European Union depend to a great extent on this report,” Igor Grosu said.

In the 2025 Enlargement Report published on 4 November 2025, the European Commission concluded that the Republic of Moldova recorded the highest annual progress among all candidate states.

The report highlights that these results were achieved despite ongoing pressure, the energy crisis, and attempts at external destabilization. The Commission reconfirmed its support through a €1.9 billion economic growth plan for 2025–2027, earmarked for infrastructure and digitalization.