Former Moldovan president and leader of the opposition Socialist Party, Igor Dodon, told TASS that Moldova will not become a member of the European Union in the coming years. According to him, this reality is already being realized not only by Moldovan politicians but also by representatives in Brussels.

“Everyone now understands that Moldova will not become a member of the EU in the coming years. It is true that Brussels promised that the first phase of negotiations would begin in the nearest days, but the Europeans themselves – and our delegation recently visited Brussels – acknowledge that becoming a member of the European Union will be very difficult and will not happen soon,” Dodon said.

Dodon, who heads the largest opposition party in Moldova, the Socialist Party, also criticized the current Moldovan president, Maia Sandu. He claims that she increasingly relies on the topic of possible reunification of Moldova with Romania in her political rhetoric, thereby, in his view, trying to exert pressure on Brussels. However, according to Dodon, the European Union takes such a scenario negatively due to “certain risks.”

Moldova received official candidate country status in the European Union in 2022. Accession negotiations were formally launched in the summer of 2024. Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi had previously stated that Chisinau is ready to consider the option of joining the European Union without full membership rights before the 2028 presidential elections.

According to TASS, Moldova and Ukraine will enter the first phase of negotiations on EU membership. However, the start of the negotiation process does not mean a fixed date for accession. Turkey is often cited as an example, which began accession negotiations with the EU in 2005 but is still not close to membership after more than twenty years.

Dodon's words thus fit into a broader domestic debate in Moldova, where the issue of European integration has become one of the main topics of dispute between the pro-European leadership of the country and the pro-Russian opposition.

gnews.cz - GH