The opening of accession negotiations is a free ticket that Moldova received in the current geopolitical context. The executive director of the Institute for Strategic Initiatives Vlad Kulminski said the merit for the success achieved at the foreign level belongs exclusively to President Maia Sandu. He noted that the next two elections will be crucial for Moldova’s European future, IPN notes.
The executive director of the Institute for Strategic Initiatives says that the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union is an unexpected success for Moldova, which was influenced by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
“Moldova received a free ticket. The geopolitical circumstances, the sacrifice of Ukraine offered us a free ticket to make a very clear choice. Where do we want to be? In whose sphere of influence do we want to be? This choice will be made over the next two years. If in 2025 we elect a Government that will promote the idea that the Republic of Moldova is a bridge between the West and the East, that we must remain a gray area, that we must be friends with everyone, or if a Government that will not promote negotiations on chapters with the EU comes, we will miss this geopolitical chance,” Vlad Kulminschi stated in the program “Reflection Points” on Vocea Basarabiei station.
According to the expert, the unprecedented openness of the West towards Moldova is the exclusive merit of President Maia Sandu. Under Maia Sandu’s leadership, the country firmly decided its geopolitical course.
“Thanks to Maia Sandu, we received the EU candidate status. Without Maia Sandu, we would have been where Georgia is now. The Western leaders understood that Maia Sandu does not play any geopolitical games. She does not go to Moscow to tell one thing, and to Brussels to tell another thing. Maia Sandu firmly made her choice. The Republic of Moldova, under Maia Sandu’s leadership, made its choice to become part of the West. The Republic of Moldova will not return to the Russian sphere of influence,” opined the expert.
On December 14, the European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine and grant candidate status to Georgia, and said the bloc would open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached.