European Leaders Unite to Support Moldova Amidst Russian Pressure

Mon Dec 29 2025 09:24:06 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Leaders from France, Germany, and Poland visit Moldova to bolster EU accession efforts while addressing concerns over Russian influence, just weeks ahead of critical elections.

Amid ongoing threats from Russia, European leaders have gathered in Moldova to affirm their support for the country's aspirations to join the EU. This visit coincides with Moldova's celebration of its 34th independence anniversary and precedes pivotal parliamentary elections, where fears of pro-Russian elements gaining power loom. President Maia Sandu emphasizes the importance of EU membership as a means to guarantee national security, while European leaders express solidarity and encouragement during their visit, reflecting shared values of peace and freedom.

Leaders from France, Germany, and Poland have travelled to Moldova to show support for the country's accession to the EU and warn of Russia's relentless efforts to undermine that ambition.

The visit comes as Moldova marks 34 years of independence from Moscow, declared as the Soviet Union fell apart.

But it is also taking place a month before critical parliamentary elections in which the EU and the Moldovan government fear pro-Russian elements could gain ground.

Flanked by European heads of state, Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu told her country that it proved EU membership was not a distant dream, but a project we are working on, one that is vital as a guarantee of security.

The merciless war that Russia wages against Ukraine shows us daily that Europe means freedom and peace, whilst Putin's Russia means war and death, the president said.

Last year Sandu called a referendum on enshrining the goal of EU membership in the constitution. The yes vote narrowly won.

Shortly after that vote, the president, who went to Harvard and used to work for the World Bank, won a second term after a tense second round.

Today, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that is because Moscow is trying relentlessly to undermine freedom and prosperity in Moldova, as Vladimir Putin attempts to return it to Russia's fold.

In response, Sandu is focused on forging strong relations with Europe.

Moldova has been a firm supporter of Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, fearful that its own land was also in Putin's sights. Today, Merz said that Europe and the US were putting everything into trying to end the war there.

President Sandu's party, PAS, are hoping that elections next month will give it a new mandate to push ahead with reforms and keep moving closer towards Europe, after the country began formal accession talks last year.

But polls suggest PAS will lose seats – and likely its majority - in parliament, which is why the president is calling in the European cavalry for Independence Day.