The European Commission has adopted the 2025 enlargement reports, which provide a detailed assessment of the current situation and progress of the countries that have applied for EU membership. The reports also provide recommendations on key reforms for each candidate on the path to Union membership.
Regarding Moldova, it is noted that our country, “in the face of continuous hybrid threats and attempts to destabilize the country, has made significant progress towards EU membership, having successfully completed the screening process”.
“The first EU-Moldova Summit in July 2025 marked a new stage of cooperation and integration. Moldova adopted roadmaps on the rule of law, public administration and the functioning of democratic institutions, which the Commission assessed positively,” the EC notes.
According to the Commission’s assessment, Moldova has fulfilled the conditions for opening clusters: 1 (fundamentals), 6 (external relations) and 2 (internal market). The Commission expects Moldova to fulfill the conditions for the opening of the remaining three clusters and is working so that the Council can start the process of opening all the clusters by the end of the year.
Regarding the statements of Moldovan top officials about the completion of EU accession negotiations by 2028, the Commission called this goal “ambitious but achievable”:
“The Moldovan government has stated its intention to provisionally close membership negotiations by early 2028.The Commission is committed to supporting this goal, which is ambitious but achievable provided the current pace of reforms is accelerated. Maintaining the reform momentum is essential and is reinforced by strong parliamentary support for the country’s European course following the elections in September”.
Head of State Maia Sandu, in Brussels on the occasion of the presentation of the report, described the results for Moldova as “encouraging”:
“The results for our country are encouraging: in the last 12 months, Moldova has shown the greatest progress among all candidate countries – in the fields of justice, energy, education, digitalization, regional development and many others. We built this result together – state institutions, civil society, citizens and our European partners. Thank you to all the staff involved in the accession process. We are on the right track and we must keep this momentum. Moldova deserves its place in the European family, where freedom is protected and people can live with confidence in the future,” Maia Sandu said.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Commission is “more committed than ever to making the EU enlargement a reality”:
“A larger Union means a stronger and more influential Europe on the global stage. But enlargement is a merit-based process. Our package contains concrete recommendations for all our partners. To all of them we say: joining the EU is a unique proposition, a promise of peace, prosperity and solidarity. With the right reforms and strong political will, our partners can seize this opportunity.”
In turn, Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, noted that “there are no shortcuts for the candidate countries, but whatever the EU can do to support the process, we must do.
“Overall, 2025 has been a year of significant progress in the EU enlargement process. Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova stand out as having made the most progress in reforms over the past year. At the current pace and quality of reforms, we may be in a position to finalize accession negotiations in the coming years,” said Marta Kos, Commissioner for Enlargement.
The document published by the European Commission on Moldova contains more than 100 pages, presenting both statements and new recommendations. For instance, the subsection “Existence of a functioning market economy” notes that the Commission’s recommendations given last year have been partially implemented and remain relevant.
In the coming year, Moldova should, inter alia, “pursue a fiscal policy aimed at achieving balanced medium-term fiscal targets and ensuring public debt sustainability, while increasing public investment, in particular through the Growth Plan, broadening the tax base, including by reducing tax exemptions, and improving expenditure efficiency”.
It is also recommended to reduce vulnerability to external shocks, including by expanding and diversifying the export base, improving business regulation and competition in key sectors, accelerating the reform of state-owned enterprises, including completing the digitalization of the state property register, selecting independent board members, and launching preparations for privatization of selected enterprises.
