Moldova seeks closer EU ties due to Ukraine war risks

Significance

"Ukraine isn't Russia's only target," he warned. For the moment, Moldovan leaders are downplaying, even publicly ignoring, the existence of military threat. Instead, they are building support in Europe and trying to address potentially destabilising factors at home, which include high energy prices and the arrival of Ukrainian refugees. The Moldova Support Platform was launched as an international donor coordination framework in Berlin on April 5.

Impacts

• Moldovan security concerns will be directly affected by the progress of Russian attacks on nearby Odessa.
• Increased external assistance to Moldova can mitigate sources of internal instability and improve resilience in non-military areas.
• A real prospect of EU membership could prompt reforms and thereby strengthen state capacity to resolve overlapping crises.