Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 02/2014

Is Moldova Tired of Being the Success Story of the Eastern Partnership?

Anita Sobják

July 2013

The Polish Institute of International Affairs

Abstract

Despite months of internal political wrangling, Moldova seems to be making steady progress in its Association Agreement with the EU. But the domestic political crisis has revealed many truths about both Moldova’s European policy and the EU’s transformative power. As such, the road to the EU remains murky as long as several variables remain in place: the ongoing tensions in the governing alliance, lower public support for European integration in Moldova, and Russia’s re-emerging leverage via Transnistria. That is why Poland, together with its partners, should look for new ways to keep Moldova as the pacesetter of the Eastern Partnership.