Maia Sandu sets Moldova’s new Parliament on course for EU Treaty signing
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has set out the key priorities for the country's new parliament, emphasising peace, security, and EU accession.
Speaking at the constitutive session of the 12th Parliament, she tasked the new Members of Parliament (MPs) with completing major reforms and harmonising the national legal framework with the European one to allow the signing of the EU Accession Treaty during their term.
She began by stating that Moldovan citizens had entrusted them, above all, with the mission of "preserving peace" in the country.
President Sandu noted that the MPs were elected following "tense elections, with many challenges," some of which were "fueled from abroad by those who do not want a free and sovereign Moldova." She added that authorities must ensure no future election is threatened by dirty money or foreign influence, and that the phenomenon of vote buying "must be definitively eradicated."
Sandu: 'No lessons in democracy from Moscow'
The President described the current period as "the most complicated since independence," stressing that politicians had a high responsibility to the people and must "act exclusively in the interest of the Republic of Moldova."
"It is a difficult mission, as the world is going through a period of profound tensions and uncertainties," she said, adding that Moldova faced hybrid attacks "meant to divide us, to scare us, and to weaken us." She urged those complicit in the hybrid war to understand that "devotion to the country is sacred."
In this context, she addressed "so-called defenders of democracy" in the room who had criticised government actions to defend democracy, such as combating illegal funding and removing candidates with 'anti-national intentions' from the election.
She highlighted the "hypocritical silence" of critics regarding the arrest of young people in Russia for singing in the street, and concluded: "We will not take lessons in democracy from those who took their instructions from Moscow, where critics of the war and peace advocates are sentenced to heavy years in prison."
EU accession and justice
President Sandu confirmed that the vetting process must be completed during this legislature, and safeguards for honest judges and prosecutors must be consolidated. She added that professional training for future judges and prosecutors, starting at university, was essential.
The President underlined that the new parliament was "called upon to fulfill the objective enshrined in the Constitution... to lead the country into the European Union," in line with the majority vote in the September 28, 2025, election. She appealed to the MPs to assume a sustained pace for the necessary legislative adoption so that the Accession Treaty could be signed during their term.
Economic and Transnistria tasks Other key tasks included a territorial-administrative reform, stimulating the economy, creating jobs, boosting family incomes, and developing various key sectors using European funds.
She also stressed the need to encourage the return of emigrants and ensure citizens on the left bank of the Nistru River can access the labour market and move freely. She linked this to efforts to peacefully settle the Transnistrian conflict, which "must include the definitive withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the region."
"The next few years will be decisive for what the Republic of Moldova will look like, and we all have a duty to contribute to the construction of a modern European state," she concluded.
The session, convened by President Sandu's decree after the Constitutional Court validated the election results, was chaired by the MP for the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, Zinaida Greceanîi, after the two most senior MPs refused the role. Attendees included elected MPs, members of the Constitutional Court, and the diplomatic corps accredited in Chișinău.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
