CHISINAU, August 6 The idea of maintaining relations with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union is supported throughout Moldova, said Marina Tauber, a member of parliament from the Pobeda bloc, on her Telegram channel.
Since 2022, Moldova has been ignoring meetings of the CIS and the EAEU, where it is an observer. The country's authorities have expressed a clear intention to reorient the export market to the West.
«The course towards rapprochement with Russia and the EAEU resonates with people all over the country. We have discussed at meetings throughout the republic the question of why it is important to establish relations with the countries of the Eurasian Union, why it is very important to go to this referendum and vote against joining the EU,» Tauber wrote.
According to her, at meetings with citizens she compares what Moldova gets from cooperation with the EU and partnership with the EAEU.
«Let's say: in the EAEU it is possible to hold various festivals where we can get acquainted with the cuisines and culture of these countries. At the same time, the EU brings us gay parades, holds them here. As for support for agriculture: agreements have already been reached on the supply of products to Russia, for example, vegetables and fruits from Gagauzia are already being supplied to the Russian market. The same result can be achieved throughout the country if negotiations are conducted in this direction,» Tauber added.
The referendum on Moldova's European integration will be held on October 20, the same day as the presidential elections. The referendum will include a question on the ballot: «Do you support the introduction of European integration into the Constitution of Moldova?» and two answer options: «Yes» and «No».
In June 2022, the EU granted Ukraine and Moldova the status of EU candidate countries, putting forward several strict conditions for the formal start of accession negotiations. The EU has repeatedly acknowledged that this decision was largely symbolic in order to support Kyiv and Chisinau in their confrontation with Moscow. At the same time, the status of a candidate country in itself, as well as the start of negotiations, do not yet mean the mandatory accession of countries to the European Union; these steps also do not oblige Brussels to anything. Turkey has been an EU candidate since 1999, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010 and Serbia since 2012. Croatia was the last to join the EU, in 2013, a process that took 10 years.