How Moldova plans to de-occupy Transnistria and engage the EU

17.03.2026, 22:07 eurointegration.com.ua

More than five months ago, in September 2025, the ruling party in Moldova won the parliamentary elections and secured control of the country for the coming years. This opened a window of opportunity for unpopular but critically necessary decisions, such as those concerning the Transnistrian issue.

Read more about how exactly Chișinău envisions restoring Moldova’s territorial integrity and what risks this plan entails in the article by Sergiy Sydorenko, European Pravda's editor: External governance and economic pressure: how Moldova plans to bring back Transnistria.

As early as last year, European officials were saying they were waiting for action from Chișinău on restoring territorial integrity after the elections.

Europeans’ desire not to give Putin a "Transnistrian veto" over Moldova’s EU accession is understandable. But the arguments of those who say it would be much cheaper to reunify Moldova now rather than after joining the EU are equally clear.

Therefore, even Moldova’s friends insist that Chișinău go through this process (or most of it) during the candidate stage. That is why, under European pressure, Chișinău was forced to break its silence.

The Transnistria topic is considered politically dangerous in Moldova, and politicians carefully avoid discussing it before elections.

On 12-13 March, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Valeriu Chiver visited Brussels. He "presented (to European partners) the efforts of the Moldovan authorities to find sustainable solutions to existing problems… in the country’s reintegration policy."

This is a concept that Chișinău is ready to refine.

The document is titled "Basic approaches in the process of the gradual reintegration of the Transnistrian region".

First, about European integration, which has become perhaps the main driver behind the development of this document.

Chișinău insists that waiting for the return of Transnistria before Moldova joins the EU is unacceptable.

At the same time, Chișinău understands that freezing reintegration is also not an option. Therefore, the document proposes to Europeans a scheme whereby the EU accession treaty would state that EU law applies immediately on the right bank (controlled by the government), while on the left bank it "will be suspended for a defined period".

The phrase "defined period" means that the timeline for the final return of Transnistria will not be indefinite, but limited.

Given that Tiraspol does not want reunification and is supported by Moscow, Chișinău has chosen the economy as the "central element of the strategy". Moldova plans to put the de facto authorities of the region into a framework and apply economic measures that will force them step by step to comply with Chișinău’s demands.

The mechanism is simple: "through legislative norms, unified rules of the game will be introduced requiring strict compliance with national law across the entire territory of the country, including fiscal, customs and trade regulations".

Last year, Moldova already tested this mechanism by cancelling tax benefits for producers from the Transnistrian region that had existed for decades.

Despite the outrage, businesses were forced to comply.

In addition to the "stick," Moldova is also preparing a "carrot" – assistance to Transnistria and its businesses in exchange for political concessions from Tiraspol.

As for the Russian army in Transnistria, Moldova sees the possibility of its withdrawal through "cooperation with European and transatlantic partners aimed at demilitarising the region".

Moldova is also ready to temporarily compromise on sovereignty in Transnistria. In particular, it is open to creating an international civilian peacekeeping mission or a civilian administration in the region.

At the same time, the government document contains no safeguards regarding Russia’s participation as one of the actors in this transitional administration. This is the most risky element of Moldova’s strategy.