Moldova’s Fast Track to the EU: At What Cost?

The accelerated EU accession process will unfold on geopolitical grounds, bypassing traditional negotiations and, therefore, without taking into account the specifics and interests of the national economy

Christian RUSSU, RTA: The past decade in the country has unfolded under the banner of European integration. Numerous reforms in the justice system and public administration, often contradictory in nature, along with constant reshuffles within executive authorities, dismissals of officials, and high-profile criminal cases, have all been carried out in the name of the EU path. However, despite the relentless manipulation of pro-European slogans and the distortion of democratic values, the population has not yet abandoned the illusion of a better life at someone else’s expense. The European benefits in the form of visa-free regime fuels these dreams, and major part of population is ready to tolerate widespread disappointment, blaming personal failures. Our political class is fully aware of this irrational urge in the masses and continues to exploit it. It goes without saying that faith in the promises of the Chisinau politicians would have been shaken long ago, but here comes the timely support of European officials, be it a timid greeting or a friendly pat, a stern admonition or outright flattery. The authority of EU emissaries in our country is still extremely high. They are feared and respected, considered as our own for speeches in the state language, for wearing national costumes, for eating placinta and drinking wine. These provincial weaknesses of Moldovans, Ukrainians and other Slavs are well known to European bureaucrats from joint playbooks with the State Department dating back to the Democrats’ era. However, over the last two years, this PR has taken on a level of absurdity and grotesque beyond all measure. Janis Mazeiks dances and sings. Marta Kos feeds the chickens of a pro-government blogger on cameras. Brussels officials have become so convinced of their own exceptionalism and impunity that they now openly indulge in almost blatant trolling. The public bet on the timeline for the coveted accession to the community is the cherry on top. The electoral and populist nature of this behavior is obvious to everyone, but it is not only about tactical decisions. The thing is that the EU is more invested in Moldova than Moldova is itself. Therefore, up until and after the elections, we can expect a new batch of pompous political statements and symbolic actions framed around the European integration. The calendar of events is planned for several years ahead, and there is little to depend on our politicians, even if they decide to change the rules. Eurosceptics and EU enlargement procedure theorists should not merely ridicule the leadership for setting accession deadlines that our country is objectively unprepared to meet. All of this should raise serious concerns. It is hard to argue that our country has fulfilled all the requirements of the Association Agreement or meets the criteria for candidate status. The same goes for the start of accession negotiations. Everything is being done hastily, chaotically, and with significant advance concessions that will somehow need to be justified later. However, the real problem lies not only in the fact that future generations will bear the burden – political, institutional, and financial – but also in the fact that Moldova’s political elite is effectively being encouraged to act irresponsibly. In my opinion, the main problem lies in the reluctance to understand and defend our national interests in the daily process of interaction with the EU. For our authorities, the unconditional priority is merely achieving the goal: obtaining status, securing a formal agreement – without regard for the consequences, without assessing the costs. During the preparation of the Association and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement, domestic officials at the time ignored entire sectors of the national economy, simply to please European partners and rush to sign the document. The consequences of such actions, which can rightly be described as treacherous, are now fully visible: producing anything in our country has become unprofitable, from agriculture and food processing to mechanical engineering. Our exports have plummeted, while imports continue to surge. Poverty levels are reaching record levels. The external debt is growing uncontrollably. The outflow of the population persists. The promotion of a Soviet-style narrative about “completing the five-year EU integration plan in just three years” is aimed at concealing a new scheme in the making. There will be no traditional accession negotiations for Moldova’s entry into the EU. After all, such negotiations imply not only meeting the EU’s requirements but also taking into account own economic interests and allocating multi-million-euro funds to all strategic sectors of the national economy. All of this, it seems, will simply be skipped. There will be no increase in the competitiveness of our businesses, nor the much-promised economic breakthrough. The territory of Moldova is of interest to Brussels solely from a military-strategic perspective, which is why it’s ready to abandon its own principles and values in the name of regional confrontation with Russia. There is no doubt that roads will improve in the course of EU integration, but our second misfortune, the fools, will remain as long as the EU grants our political elite the power to conceal its incompetence and maintain control through authoritarian means. Meeting the timeline for concluding EU accession talks by 2028, as announced by Marta Kos, is entirely possible. After all, the Baltic states also managed to complete negotiations within two years. However, it is worth recalling that in their case, EU membership became possible only after joining NATO. Even then, in a less confrontational environment, the geopolitical factor was decisive. It is easy to guess what will justify such an advance in our case. The real question is: in what way will this symbolic move benefit our nation, rather than the political elites? So far, the accelerated European integration process, which has become the core policy of Maia Sandu and her party, has brought not investment and higher living standards, but recession, poverty, external control in the military-political sphere, and confrontation with Russia.