The Republic of Moldova has made progress in all 33 chapters of its accession negotiations with the European Union, with readiness for membership improving in 25 of them compared with the previous year. The country has also reached a moderate or good level of preparedness in 21 chapters. Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov presented the figures at the Annual Conference on EU Enlargement, held in Chisinau, IPN reports.

According to the official, three areas have reached a good level of preparedness: the customs union, energy, and foreign, security and defence policy. At the same time, 19 of the 40 areas assessed remain below a moderate level of preparedness and will require further efforts.

Cristina Gherasimov noted that the European Commission’s report confirms good or substantial progress in 33 of the 40 areas assessed over the past 12 months. This marks a significant improvement compared with previous years: in 2023, good progress was recorded in just six chapters, and in 2025, in 19.

The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the next stage of the accession process involves more than adopting legislation. It requires consistent implementation of laws, stronger institutional capacity, and tangible results that demonstrate the impact of reforms.

To this end, the roadmap for 2027 envisages the potential closure of nine negotiating chapters in the first half of the year and a further 16 in the second half. Cristina Gherasimov clarified that this timetable gives institutions a clear framework for planning their work, but does not guarantee that negotiations will be concluded within those time frames.

At the same time, the authorities are working to update the National Accession Programme to incorporate the European Commission’s recommendations and the benchmarks for the four negotiation clusters that have been opened.