Tens of thousands gather in Moldova to seek EU membership
About 75,000 people gathered in the Moldovan capital to support their country’s membership of the European Union, which has become the center of a struggle between Moscow and the West.
Tens of thousands of Moldovans gathered at a rally in the country’s capital, Chisinau, on Sunday to show their support for their country’s membership of the European Union.
The rally opened with the Moldovan anthem and the anthem of the European Union, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, after which the participants chanted “Europe” and “Europe Moldova”.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu spoke at the event which drew around 75,000 protesters and was joined by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
“We in the European Parliament recognize the great efforts your country has made to implement the nine stages of reform of the European Commission and to align with the EU acquis,” Metsola said, addressing to the crowd.
“Moldova is already ready for further integration into the EU single market.”
Moldova was granted EU candidate status with Ukraine in June last year, in what Sandu described at the time as “the light at the end of the tunnel”.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova has often been at the center of a struggle between Moscow and the West.
In February, Sandu accused Russia of trying to seize power in his small country. It already has a breakaway region, Transnistria, where Russia has stationed a small number of troops.
Ahead of the rally, the government conducted information campaigns urging people to attend and use public transport more on Sunday to facilitate their participation in the rally.
In recent years, Moldova has experienced widespread disillusionment with post-Soviet politics and an exodus of thousands of Moldovans to live and work abroad.
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