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risky confrontations, taking a more opportunistic approach.
Moldova’s pro-EU steps involved joining the same regime of sanctions as that of Brussels, including most of the sanctions against Russia.
Pulling out of the Russia-led Community of Independent States (CIS) is a laborious process that from time to time prompts warnings from the Kremlin and, more recently, the resumption of the embargo of Moldovan apples (or any other fruit/vegetable). As Moldova stopped using natural gas purchased directly from Russia, Moscow’s instruments of coercion are increasingly limited, though. Transnistria itself is more concerned with getting European certification for its products and delivering electricity at an affordable cost to Chisinau, produced with virtually free Russian gas.
At the OSCE meeting, Lavrov specifically spoke of the breakaway Transnistria region. He accused the EU and Nato of “killing” the 5+2 negotiation format, which he said was “the last thing left of the joint efforts for a Transnistrian settlement”. He also recalled the 2003 Kozak memorandum on the federalisation of Moldova, which he defended as the best option for the Transnistrian settlement.
For its part, the ruling party in Moldova, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), has not pursued sufficient irreversible reforms in key areas such as the judiciary during the window of opportunity after it won the general elections in 2020, which may close after the parliamentary and presidential elections at the end of 2024 and early 2025. The support enjoyed by PAS among voters is fragile as revealed by the local elections in 2023 and maintaining the majority in parliament is highly unlikely. With a minority government from early 2025, President Maia Sandu (who is likely to get a second term) will have a much more difficult task in driving the country along the accession negotiations road that it may embark on in early 2024.
1.8 Politics - Montenegro
After a year and half of blocked reforms due to the lack of a working parliament and over a year of caretaker government, Montenegro held a snap general election in June and politicians managed to set aside their controversies and form a working ruling coalition. The newest political formation in the Adriatic country – the Europe Now (PES) party – won the vote and its leader Milojko Spajic headed a government that has set as its top priorities to bring the country back to the reform path that would finally secure it membership of the European Union.
As a strong signal of his government’s intentions, an hour and half after
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