President Maia Sandu said she would vote in favor of unification with Romania if a referendum were held, but stressed that European integration remains the more realistic objective for Moldova at this stage. She made the statements during an interview on the British podcast The Rest Is Politics: Leading.
Sandu spoke about the national revival movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s and explained why unification does not currently have majority public support. She said Moldova must continue on its European path.
“If we had a referendum, I would vote for unification with Romania. When we look at what is happening around Moldova and in the world, it becomes increasingly difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign state, and to resist Russia,” Sandu said. “As president, and based on opinion polls, I understand that there is no majority today in favor of unification with Romania. However, there is a majority that supports EU integration, and this is the path we are pursuing. It is a more realistic goal and it helps us survive as a democracy.”
The Republic of Moldova applied for EU membership together with Georgia and Ukraine in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
EU member states later decided to open accession negotiations with Moldova and have repeatedly praised the country for the accelerated pace of reforms, implementation of accession recommendations, and alignment with EU legislation.