Op-Ed
	According to one of the main economic indicators, the GDP per capita in Moldova is seven times lower than the average in the EU countries. And by the GDP per capita, the EU surpasses Moldova four times by purchasing power parity, which means that the standard of living in the EU is four times higher than in the Republic of Moldova...
Anatol Țăranu

The implosion of the USSR and the socialist camp radically changed international geopolitics and, in particular, that of Europe. For Romanians, the collapse of the Soviet system meant the assertion on the political map of Europe of two Romanian states bordering the Prut. The fall of the Soviet empire gave the Romanians the long-awaited chance to decide their own destiny without the decisive interference of imperial Moscow. Both of the Romanian states found themselves faced with the establishment of the path of further development, given that the “socialist” past profoundly distorted the understanding of the choice of civilization that was to become the main national objective to be achieved.

Year 2007, comparable to 1918

For Romania, this objective was clearly outlined since the formalization of diplomatic relations with the European Union back in 1990. The following year, the relations were extended to the economic field, especially on the trade dimension. In 1995, according to the Snagov declaration, Romania applied to become a member of the European Union, but the process proved to be quite long and arduous. The actual negotiations for Romania’s accession to the European Union began only in 2000. The accession process was relatively long and involved many changes and reforms, ending with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU on January 1, 2007.

Romania’s accession to the European Union became the greatest historical achievement of the Romanian people after the great union of 1918. As a result of joining the EU, Romania has made a remarkable leap in civilization, starting with a spectacular economic recovery and an increase in the standard of living of the Romanians, which is very different from the socialist period. The benefits obtained by joining the EU amounted to billions of euros annually, which covered ordinary citizens’ expenses on larger and more modern buildings, on more expensive cars, on other consumer goods, which until 2007 were inaccessible to many Romanians.

Unprecedented well-being for Romania

The membership in the EU has brought unprecedented well-being for Romania, which at the time of accession benefited from a remarkable economic growth, starting from a Gross Domestic Product of about €100 billion in 2006 to €300 billion this year. According to economic analysts, if Romania had remained today as the Republic of Moldova outside the EU, its level of economic and social development would have corresponded to the last place among the current EU member countries. But the EU membership guaranteed Romania the level of 78% of the GDP per capita at purchasing power parity of the European average, ahead of Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, Greece, and Bulgaria.

Romania’s spectacular development as part of the EU was due, first of all, to the fact that the country is a net beneficiary of the EU budget, given that the total funding received from the European Commission is three times higher than the national contribution paid to the European Union budget. Romania is one of the main beneficiaries of the European Union’s Cohesion Policy, ranking fifth in terms of financial allocation and fourth in terms of the amounts collected so far. By the end of the current decade, Romania can benefit from almost €80 billion from European funds, given that the absorption capacity of these funds was 97% in 2023.

Moldova, oscillating between development models

Unlike Romania, which was integrated into the EU in 2007, the Republic of Moldova during all these years failed to follow the European path, oscillating between opposite development models. The variation of the European path in the second Romanian state located eastward the Prut was characterized by the lack of a national consensus on the choice of civilization. In the Republic of Moldova, after more than thirty years of existence of the independent state, the conditions for a “Snagov Pact” were not created as a manifestation of the broad political consensus on the future of the country. Thus, according to one of the latest polls, only 53 percent of the respondents would vote for Moldova’s accession to the European Union, and over 33 percent would vote against.

In terms of identity, most of the followers of the pro-European idea are Moldovan citizens with an assumed Romanian national consciousness. While among the opponents of the European orientation of the Republic of Moldova there are mainly national minorities and followers of anti-Romanian Moldovenism. There is a close connection between Moldova, dominated by anti-Romanian Moldovenism, and the opposition to the European factor in Moldovan society. Every time the militant “Moldovenist” political forces asserted themselves in power in Chisinau, the European course of the Moldovan state derailed or at best stagnated. 

It lost many opportunities and advantages

The Republic of Moldova, by missing out on joining the European Union (EU) compared to Romania or the Baltic states, lost many development opportunities and advantages. If it had been a member of the EU, Moldova would have had access to one of the largest consumer markets in the world, without tariff barriers and with uniform trade rules, which could have stimulated economic growth and the development of local businesses. Unlike the EU member states, the Republic of Moldova could not benefit from structural and cohesion funds for regional development, infrastructure and other projects of strategic importance. The non-accession meant that Moldova did not have access to these financial resources, remaining critically dependent economically on Moscow with the neocolonial policies of this.

As a result, the Republic of Moldova stagnated economically and socially, taking one of the last places in Europe in terms of economic development and living standards. According to one of the main economic indicators, the GDP per capita in Moldova is seven times lower than the average in the EU countries. And by the GDP per capita, the EU surpasses Moldova four times by purchasing power parity, which means that the standard of living in the EU is four times higher than in the Republic of Moldova.

EU, guarantor of well-being and prosperity

The accession to the European Union and the NATO membership took Romania far ahead of the Republic of Moldova in terms of economic development and social welfare, which led to the appearance of a gap of US$15,000 in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita between the two Romanian states, which in the early 1990s and even 2000s were in more or less similar economic positions. This solid gap was formed after Romania became a member of the European Union - guarantor of well-being and prosperity - and joined the NATO security umbrella, while the Republic of Moldova oscillated in terms of its foreign policy course, while constantly maintaining its preference for the East.

Today, by becoming a candidate country for accession to the European Union, the Republic of Moldova has a unique chance to overcome the state of underdevelopment and poverty. But equally important and true is the fact that the work to be done is enormous and can only yield results as a result of a combined effort of the overwhelming majority of society. But, for the time being, Moldovan society remains dangerously divided in terms of the choice of civilization, the followers of the European orientation only slightly outnumbering the opponents of the European course. In the Republic of Moldova, the democratic alternation in power means not so much competition for a more efficient European policy, but rather a cardinal change of the course of development. 

The European choice for the Republic of Moldova is closely dependent on its assumption of the identity of the second Romanian state. Given that Moldovan society continues to find itself in terms of identity in the imprisonment of the anti-Romanian “Moldovenist” concept as a legacy of the colonial era, the Republic of Moldova cannot become European and guarantee its citizens well-being and democracy. Between a “Moldovenist” Republic of Moldova and a European Romania, the civilization gap will continue to grow, condemning a part of the Romanian people situated eastward the Prut to poverty and underdevelopment. The Republic of Moldova can enter Europe only with a Romanian identity, while the “Moldovenist” identity, being the product of the former colonial metropolis, can only stop the European path by anchoring the Moldovan state in the Eurasian space under the domination of Moscow’s imperialist revenge.

IPN publishes in the Op-Ed rubric opinion pieces submitted by authors not affiliated with our editorial board. The opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily coincide with the opinions of our editorial board.