The Prospects of Moldova’s EU Accession With or Without a Defined Status of the Transnistrian Region
Moldova’s path to membership of the European Union is complicated by the unresolved Transnistrian conflict and Russia’s illegal military presence on its territory. While the EU has not formally required the conflict to be resolved before accession, the situation in the Transnistrian region poses significant challenges to Moldova’s ability to meet EU standards of governance, or on the rule of law and security. A central issue in this context is whether the Republic of Moldova can join the EU before final resolution of the Transnistrian conflict.