Brussels – The high-level meeting is not without results – quite the contrary. However, the question mark that remains over the most important issue of the day inevitably casts a shadow of uncertainty over the whole second EU–Moldova Summit. When will the opening of the five remaining EU accession clusters finally take place?
“Windows of opportunity like this open and close. Ours is open now – this is a race against time and we intend to win it,” Moldovan President Maia Sandu said at the end of the summit on 22 June, referring to the way forward after the opening of Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ one week before. “We ask only one thing: a process based on merit. We stand ready to open all the remaining clusters immediately,” Sandu added.
A prospect confirmed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who recalled that “we have given the recommendation to the Council to open all clusters.” Describing herself as “not worried” about the process, she clearly rejected the scenario in which Moldova and Ukraine remain linked by the so-called ‘package approach’ – meaning that when one candidate stalls, the other must also wait. “Once Cluster 1 is open, each candidate country is responsible for itself,” because each must deliver “different reforms.”
However, given that Chișinău is deemed ready to meet the goal of opening all the clusters already in July – paving the way for the fulfilment of interim benchmarks and the start of chapter closing – it is unclear what is holding it back. Much like what happened with Ukraine, the European Council conclusions on Moldova merely “look forward to the opening of the other clusters, in line with the merit-based approach.” However, the reference to “as soon as possible” contained in the latest draft circulated on the eve of the EU leaders’ summit – seen by The New Union Post – was removed in the final text.
Yet, according to von der Leyen, the expression ‘merit-based’ is “much more important” than ‘as soon as possible’, because “it does not say anything – what does it refer to?” At the same time, President Sandu urged the opening of all negotiations “without delay,” precisely because of the merit-based process, while European Council President António Costa promised that the EU institution would “deliver on enlargement as soon as possible.”
The results of the second EU–Moldova Summit
EU accession negotiations aside, the high-level summit highlighted clear progress in deepening cooperation across a wide range of sectors.
First, the “consistent implementation of reforms” aligning with the EU acquis “despite unprecedented external pressures,” the joint declaration states. This is also linked to the “tangible results” required for the disbursement of the Growth Plan for Moldova. With 28 out of 30 reforms due by the end of 2025 completed, two subsequent tranches of funds have already been disbursed, amounting to €504 million out of the total €1.8 billion package. An additional €528 million will be unlocked “if Moldova continues at a steady pace and achieves all the reform steps due in 2026.”
The inclusion of Chișinău in the free roaming area and the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is “a concrete example of what gradual integration means, with businesses and citizens already feeling the benefits of EU integration,” von der Leyen stressed. The summit pushed forward efforts to expand this approach “across key sectors” and to enable the candidate country to participate in EU policies and programmes “already during the accession process.”
In particular, this concerns the shared commitment to further strengthening people-to-people contacts. Two key examples are the prospect of closer association with the Erasmus+ programme “as early as 2028,” as Commission President von der Leyen indicated, as well as the extension of the DiscoverEU rail pass to young travellers from Moldova “in 2027.”
Energy security and diversification, agriculture, artificial intelligence, trade and investment, and transport connectivity are among the main areas of cooperation. However, security and defence partnership is the pivotal topic of discussion, as there are no doubts about the will to “further integrate Moldova into the European security and defence architecture” and its participation in “relevant” initiatives and mechanisms. “We are preparing a €120 million package for 2026 on security needs,” von der Leyen announced, in relation to a new allocation under the European Peace Facility.
The state of EU–Moldova relations
Just a week after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, on 3 March 2022, Moldova submitted its application for EU membership. On 23 June 2022, the European Council endorsed the European Commission’s recommendation to grant Chișinău candidate status.
At the European Council meeting on 14 December 2023, EU leaders gave the green light to open accession negotiations. Following the Council’s approval of the negotiating frameworks, the first intergovernmental conference was held on 25 June 2024 in Luxembourg.
With Viktor Orbán‘s Hungary vetoing the start of Ukraine’s EU negotiations, Moldova’s accession was also put on hold, as Chișinău’s EU process was tied to Kyiv’s through the so-called “package approach” (which linked the two dossiers from the very beginning).
On 17 March 2026, technical guidance was provided by the Commission to continue work on EU reforms across all six negotiating clusters, before the change of power in Budapest and the agreement indirectly brought a new momentum for Moldova as well, paving the way for the opening of Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ on 15 June.
