The briefing is organized by the European Movement for Germany (EBD) and will take place at the European House in Berlin. The discussion will take place against the backdrop of the ongoing debate on future EU enlargement, geopolitical changes in the region and the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
The discussion will center on the current state of Moldova’s EU accession negotiations, further roadmap and key reforms to meet the Copenhagen criteria. Special attention will be paid to the rule of law, justice reform, anti-corruption and modernization of public administration.
Speakers will include representatives of the German Foreign Ministry, the European Commission and the expert community. Moldova will be represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister Mihail Popşoi.
“Moldova is not only a candidate country for EU accession, but also currently chairs the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Thus, the country connects two key European levels: the political process of the European Union enlargement and the legal and human rights standards of the Council of Europe,” the organizers note.
EBD is a non-profit and non-partisan association of more than 220 political, civil society and economic organizations. It was founded in 1949 by Paul Loebe, who chaired the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic.
Prior to the main event, Foreign Minister Mikhail Popshoy visited Hamburg, where he met with the Prime Minister of the federal state, Burgomaster of Hamburg Peter Cencher. The sides discussed the strengthening of cooperation at the regional level and the search for new opportunities for economic interaction. Economic cooperation issues, including concrete measures to facilitate the Moldovan companies’ access to the German market, were also discussed at a meeting with the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Popşoi emphasized Moldova’s “openness to attract German investments”.
UPDATE 05.03.2026
The Venice Commission is a key factor in supporting Moldova’s EU accession process. This was stated at a briefing by Professor Funda Tekan, member of the board of the European Movement Germany and director of the Institute for European Politics (IEP).
She presented the position of the European Union, which since 2022 has been looking for ways to fulfil its commitments and consistently promote the enlargement process amid growing geopolitical threats.
“It has become clear that enlargement itself may be transformed — for example, through accelerated procedures or alternative models such as associate membership or trial membership, so-called “reverse integration”. The debate on greater flexibility in the process must be conducted actively — but without compromising the fundamental values and criteria for EU accession. The Council of Europe plays an important role in this value dimension: its monitoring mechanisms and the European Court of Human Rights provide a binding framework for accompanying and implementing reforms,” the EBD statement notes.
According to Tekan, the Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova has already yielded concrete results, while ‘the Venice Commission is a key factor in supporting the accession processes.’
Dr Niklas Wagner, Commissioner for European Policy, EU Coordination and External Relations at the German Foreign Ministry, assessed Moldova’s reform efforts from the government’s perspective. He emphasised that the achievements recorded in the latest reform report confirm Germany’s support for Moldova.
The organisers of the briefing note that the progress made in meeting the Copenhagen criteria, despite the changed threat, demonstrates the seriousness with which Moldova is promoting reforms.
