The risks that hovered during the presidential election and the referendum last year persist for the parliamentary elections that will be held this year in the Republic of Moldova. If a less pro-European Parliament is elected, under the influence of Russia, it will be devastating not only for Moldova, but also for the EU. This is the opinion of the chairman of the NATO OSCE Parliamentary Committee in the Swedish Parliament Björn Söder. In an interview with IPN News Agency, the official said that it is important for the European Union to support Moldova in order to build resilience against Russian interference.

Mister Söder, thank you very much for accepting our invitation. This is not our first collaboration. In the editorial for IPN, published in December 2024, you accentuated that the Republic of Moldova has European aspirations. At the same time, you highlighted the challenges of foreign interference. How do you appreciate the current political situation in Moldova in the context of the upcoming parliamentary election?

Thank you so much for the invitation, first of all. I'm very glad for the result from the last election, the presidential election, but also the referendum, of course. But I can also see that there are challenges in the future, especially in the upcoming parliamentary election. What we could see after the last election was that there was a margin in the presidential election, about 11%, but that margin was even closer in the referendum. And, of course, it's up to the Moldovans themselves to decide their future and elect their representatives in the parliament. But due to the influence from Russia, we could see significant risks in the last election, when it comes to voter buying, when it comes to bomb threats at polling stations, when it comes to trying to change the narrative. We can see that there is a danger lurking behind the corner, which we should take seriously, both Moldova but also the European Union.



There were reports of external (Russian) interference in the Moldovan election last year. What steps do you consider necessary to prevent such interference in the next election process?

I think it's very important that we together, the Western world and the EU, together with the Moldovan government, strengthen the resilience against campaigns from Russia, influence campaigns. I think we have lots to do in that field but I also think that could be reasons for some legal changes here in Moldova, when it comes to increasing the fines or having very very high fines if you are getting caught selling your vote. I think it's important to implement the lessons learned from the last election. I'm not sure exactly how that should be done. I'm not an expert on the Moldovan legislation, but I think there are lessons to be learned.

But the most important thing, I think, is for the EU to tell, in a better way, the story for the Moldovans about what we do here. I mean to improve the Moldovans way of life. I've seen narratives from the Russian side that it's Russia that's paying for different projects here. But that's not true, it's the European Union. And I think it's very important that the EU pay more attention to to tell the story, to tell what we're doing here and to improve Moldovans' lives. That's also a thing to counter the narrative which Russia is trying to spread here.

As I said, I wasn't here in the last election. So, exactly what you can improve it's hard to answer.

I think it's very important to keep to the transparency so that the voters can see in a transparent way when it comes to counting votes, when it comes to free and fair elections, transparency when it comes to party fundings and also perhaps if there will be legal measures taken when it comes to, as I said before, trying to counter this vote buying thing. I think that's very important because we could see in the last election that there were many cases of vote buying through this application. There must be some legal measures taken against that, and to try to work harder against that. Exactly how that should be done, I'm not sure, but it's up to the authorities.

But I think it's very important that the voters can believe in the electoral system and believe that their vote makes a difference. Because we can see in other countries that people are not so keen on going to vote because they think it doesn't matter anyway. It's important to keep up this feeling of importance.



What role can the European Union and, especially, Sweden play in supporting democratic institutions and electoral processes in Moldova?

Sweden has Moldova as a prioritized target when it comes to foreign aid, but also to strengthening the capacities of institutions, compensating for the high energy prices, military cooperation. So, we're doing a lot. And I think that it's very important that the EU and the Western world keep on strengthening the resilience here by helping in the different sectors.

Taking into consideration the results of the previous election and the referendum, how do you appreciate Moldova's perspectives in the European integration? As you see it, what are the main obstacles and opportunities on this road?

First of all, I think that we should be honest and say that the way to EU membership for Moldova will be both hard and perhaps long, but I think it's realistic and I hope that Moldova will become a member of the EU. And that depends on how much Moldova itself does to fit more to the EU standards. There are lots of hard work to be done but I think that once Moldova has reached its goal, then the Moldovans will realize that it was worth it. And through this process, I mean you get lots of help from the EU to meet those standards and that will also make changes during the way. That will be obvious for the Moldovans to create a better, sustainable society.

The obstacles I can see is that there are still perhaps problems with corruptions in the country, which needs to be dealt with.

But I see that Moldova is on the right path. I mean, comparing to other countries, you have media freedom here, for instance. The last election showed that it was very well organized, largely positive reports from the OECD. So I think you have done a lot comparing to other countries which have candidate status.

But there are some internal issues to be dealt with. I think you should try to have a more reliable party system here in Moldova.

The most important thing is to counter the disinformation which is spread. That could be done in a very quick way I think.

In a longer term it's like building more stronger institutions here in Moldova to be resilient against outer threats.

You mentioned in December 2024 that the upcoming parliamentary election is not just another political contest, but a decisive moment for Moldova's democracy, with a lot of stakes. If you consider this election to be so important, does that mean that the role of Moldova's partners in ensuring free and fair elections without outside interference could - or should - also increase?

Absolutely. I see that there is danger around the corner. And I think that if, after the parliamentary election, we will have a more Russian-friendly parliament, that would be devastating. And, of course, it's up to the Moldovan themselves to decide who their representatives will be, but that should be decided by the voters' own free will, not influenced by propaganda or disinformation from the country in the East. So, I think it's very important for the EU and the Western world, not only the EU, to provide support to Moldova. to build resilience against this propaganda, resilience when it comes to the energy sector. And also resilience when it comes to the economy, when it comes to the electoral system, not least.

So I think Brussels should pay more attention to what's going on here in Moldova. Because otherwise we can wake up after the election with a perhaps not so pro-European parliament elected because of Russian influence and propaganda. And that would be devastating not only for Moldova also for the European Union.



You mentioned that in the parliamentary election even modest changes in turnout can shift the balance of power. How can we encourage people to be more active in parliamentary election? Which population groups should be targeted as a priority?

From my experience and what I have read about and heard, the diaspora is very important to reach out to. To my knowledge, the diaspora is less inclined to vote in the parliamentary election than in the presidential election. And that could, of course, turn things over if the diaspora is not engaging and participating in the upcoming election enough. So, I think that would be a prioritized group to focus on and to reach out to and try to convince them that it is important to engage and participate in the upcoming parliamentary election.

If we refer to the citizens living in Moldova, how can we encourage them to participate in elections?

I think it's very important that we try to reach out and to answer the population’s very tough questions. From the government side that should be done, perhaps even better. From the EU side I think it's important, as I said earlier, that we also tell the story about what we're doing for the Moldovans when it comes to different support packages to change their way of life to a better way. So, they can see that that the EU is here for supporting Moldova. So, the narrative that is spread by Russia, that they are supporting and doing all those things that the EU actually does, is not considered. It's important that we are out and reach people, talk to people and tell people.

I got some information that there is a sort of attitude among these citizens outside of Chisinau that the politicians are living in a bubble here in Chisinau and not going out and meeting people. I don't know if that's true, but if that's the case, it's very important that the politicians are out meeting people outside of Chisinau.

The election results have shown that people in the Republic of Moldova remain doubtful about the country's European course. What actions should be taken to change their views or, at least, increase their trust in the European Union, European leaders?

If representatives from the European member states come to Moldova and tell Moldovans what we are doing here to change the life in a better way, I think that will be the best way to make people understand that the way towards Europe is the best way. But at the end of the day, it must be the Moldovans themselves who decide their own future. It's not something we, the EU member states, should tell the Moldovans. And neither should the Russians tell the Moldovans what to do. It's up to the Moldovans themselves. But their decision must be based on correct information. That's very important.

You proposed to strengthen the collaboration of European leaders and Moldovans which leave abroad. Please tell us exactly how do you see it?

Moldova is not just a small country inside Europe. What is happening in Ukraine and here is of strategic importance. It must be in the interests of all EU Member States to follow the situation more closely. I think we can help each other here.



We all know that democracy is one of the values of the European Union. Bearing in mind that democracy provides for pluralism of opinions, what could be the place of the political opposition in the decision-making process, including, if we are referring to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova?

I think in a democracy the opposition is as important as the government. If you have a weak opposition or no opposition at all, it's not good for the democracy. So, it's very important that the opposition can work in a constructive way as well. And what I said before, that I think that strengthening the party systems in Moldova should be beneficial for the country. to have more long-lived parties. I come from Sweden where we have parties which have been functioning for hundreds of years. And I think that could be a possibility to strengthen democracy, to have more stronger parties which will live over time, perhaps based on ideology.

How do the Swedish authorities ensure transparent and fair elections? What practices can the Republic of Moldova learn from Sweden in the conduct of the electoral process?

I think Sweden has many things to learn itself. We are not perfect in any way. Perhaps we also can teach others how the electoral system could be, but I think you are on the right path here, that you have quite transparency in the election and you have well-organized elections here and, of course, you can always improve it, especially based on the recommendations from ODIHR.

Sweden gave the Republic of Moldova €120,000 to fight election disinformation last year. In your point of view, was this assistance visible? How do you monitor the correct distribution of the money? What support actions are planned this year?

For Sweden, transparency is very important - to follow the money, to see that the money goes to what it's supposed to go to. I believe that our authorities who handle those things have good eyes on that and follow up what's happening. Otherwise, I don't believe that Sweden would continue to give support packages to Moldova. This year we decided on support packages when it comes to military, when it comes for compensation for high energy prices and such, and building institution capacity. So, I believe that our authority has good control of that.

Thank you for the interview.

I also thank you.

Milena Macarciuc, IPN