Moldova is fighting for survival. To protect itself from Russia, the country wants to join the EU. Now Maia Sandu is also bringing other steps into play.
January 14, 2026, 2:41 p.mJanuary 14, 2026, 2:41 p.m
Nilofar Breuer / t-online
The fear of the aggressor Vladimir Putin is great. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has been concern in Moldova that Moscow could also attack the former Soviet republic between Romania and Ukraine. But democracy in the country is not only threatened militarily.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for a small country like Moldova.”Image: keystone
Since Russia considers Moldova to be part of its traditional zone of influence, the Kremlin is systematically trying to influence the country’s political course. Moscow supports pro-Russian parties, spreads disinformation and tries to block or weaken pro-Western reforms.
In order to protect the country’s democracy from pressure from Russia, Moldovan President Maia Sandu would now be prepared to take drastic steps: The pro-Western head of state has spoken out in favor of unifying her country with EU and NATO member Romania.
Image: t-online
How realistic is unification?
If there were a referendum, she would vote for unification, Sandu said in an interview for the British podcast “The Rest is Politics”. «Look at what is happening in the world. It is becoming increasingly difficult for a small country like Moldova to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign country and of course to resist Russia.
However, it is hardly to be expected that Romania and Moldova will actually be united in the near future. According to recent polls, only about a third of the population supports such a move. This also corresponds to the results of surveys conducted before the parliamentary elections at the end of September, in which Sandu’s pro-European ruling party received a new mandate.
The President of Moldova Maia Sandu.Image: keystone
A survey by the opinion research institute iData showed in August that 61.5 percent of the Moldovan population were against a merger with Romania, while 31 percent were in favor.
Joining the EU remains the greatest hope
The Moldovan president is aware of this. Sandu also acknowledged in the interview broadcast on Sunday that most Moldovans do not currently support her position: “As President of the Republic of Moldova, I understand that there is no majority for unification with Romania, but there is a majority for joining the European Union, and we act in that spirit. This is a much more realistic goal and helps us protect our sovereignty.”
Your government aims to join the EU by 2030, but will have to implement difficult reforms to achieve this. Today, Tuesday, Moldova published a strategic planning document: The “National Program for Accession to the European Union 2025-2029” comprises over 880 pages and defines responsibilities, implementation deadlines and mechanisms for monitoring progress.
Moldova remains a divided country
Moldova has around 2.4 million inhabitants, including a Romanian-speaking majority and a Russian-speaking minority. Pro-Russian socialists were in power in the Republic of Moldova until 2020.
The Republic of Moldova, which borders Ukraine to the north and east, was part of Romania in the interwar period but was annexed by the Soviet Union during World War II. It gained independence in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Around 1.5 million Moldovans have Romanian citizenship.
In the east of Moldova, the predominantly pro-Russian separatist Transnistria has seceded. The narrow strip of land on the border with Ukraine is supported by Russia, but is not internationally considered an independent state.