News
On Monday 4 September, the Clingendael Institute and the Netherlands Atlantic Association hosted an event with Maia Sandu, the President of Moldova, in Nieuwspoort in The Hague.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine shook the security landscape in Europe to its foundations, as the return of war on the European continent shaped a new geopolitical reality. Today, Moldova finds itself in the Kremlin’s crosshairs. The country has embarked upon a path towards EU membership, pursuing an ambitious reform program. It gained formal EU candidate status last year and hopes to open accession negotiations towards the end of 2023. Relations with NATO have also been reshaped in the wake of the war, whilst the country continues to maintain constitutional neutrality.
The president said:
“EU integration for Moldova is not just a nice dream, but the only way to survive as a democracy.”
Moldova’s President spoke about topics such as energy security, EU-integration and the importance of Ukraine and Moldova for the European security with moderator Arnout Brouwers, journalist at De Volkskrant. During her visit in The Netherlands she met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and His Majesty, King Willem Alexander.
Last year, Clingendael experts Bob Deen and Wouter Zweers conducted in-depth research on Moldova's vulnerabilities amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine last year. Discover their findings in the report.
Read more about the conversation with president Maia Sandu of Moldova in Nieuwspoort in the news items below:
- A conversation with president Maia Sandu of Moldova / Atlantische Commissie
- Moldovan president Maia Sandu: ‘I will stay in my country if Putin attacks us’, podcast / BNR Perestrojkast
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