Even if senior EU officials assured that Moldova’s accession to the EU does not depend on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, “things look bad for Moldova” if the territorial conflict remains unresolved, IPN reports, with reference to Deutsche Welle, which quotes the German daily TAZ.

Because they have no choice, the Moldovan authorities accepted the scenario of the country’s accession to the EU in two stages: first, the right bank, followed in an indeterminate perspective by the left bank. But, “if the Transnistrian region cannot be reintegrated into the economic and legal space of the Republic of Moldova by 2030, ... the European community will hardly open its doors to a state that brings with it both social and economic problems and a “Trojan horse” of the Russian Federation, which triggered a war on the European continent.”

In essence, “EU accession represents a unique opportunity for Moldova, both for development and stability, and for solving its territorial problems.” But in this equation, “Transdniestria” along Moldova’s eastern border with Ukraine represents a big challenge, because Russia provoked this war to maintain its influence in Moldova, noted the German publication.

Reflecting on the future border of the EU when 15 peacekeeping posts are located both on the side controlled by Chisinau and on the side that Moldova does not control, while the administrative line separating the sides does not pass exactly along the Nistru, the publication points out that “one cannot imagine a hypothetical EU border that excludes Transnistria”. The situation would affect Ukraine in its EU accession process.

“I would like to believe that the strategic minds of the Union are working on solving this equation, which is with many unknowns, including regarding Russia’s behavior in the future,” author of the article Irina Tabaranu stated for TAZ.