Estonian Foreign Policy Institute (EFPI) of the ICDS organised a discussion on the prospects and regional security context after recent parliamentary elections in Moldova with top Moldovan experts on 28 March 2018.
The lively discussion with Victoria Bucataru and Natalia Stercul from the Foreign Policy Association of the Republic of Moldova, Media Expert Dumitru Tira and Rein Oidekivi from ICDS was moderated by Kristi Raik, Director of EFPI. The discussion focused on topical issues such as how will the election results affect Moldova’s domestic and foreign policy, its relationship with the EU, Russia and the immediate neighbours Ukraine and Romania? What is the outlook regarding the Russian-backed separatist region of Transnistria and attempts to settle the frozen conflict?
On 24 February, the Republic of Moldova held parliamentary elections in an atmosphere of strong confrontation. The elections were won by the Socialist Party, which is known as Russia-oriented. Three other groupings made it to the parliament: the Democratic Party, which has led the government since 2014, pro-EU opposition bloc “NOW” (or ACUM) and Shor Party.
Moldova signed an Association Agreement with the EU in 2014, but its relations with the EU have been overshadowed by domestic political infighting, corruption and oligarchic influence.
