Russian political proxies are weaponising protests in Moldova, escalating Russia’s hybrid war in the country. Despite optimistic appearances, Moldovan authorities are ill-prepared to face this crisis.
Moldova’s total dependence on Russian gas makes it a key front in Moscow’s hybrid war. The EU should help Moldova diversify its energy supplies to prevent further destabilisation.
Russia could target Moldova by embarking on a limited-scope but overt military invasion – or by pursuing more covert hybrid aggression scenarios. Moldova and the EU need to embrace “active resilience” to address this.
Europeans should urgently increase Frontex assistance to Moldova, enhance intelligence cooperation, and consider positioning NATO units based in Romania closer to the country’s border
Russia’s war on Ukraine could have a heavy impact on other post-Soviet countries. Unless the EU helps these countries deal with the effects of the conflict, they could become increasingly dependent on the Kremlin.
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities.
Russia could target Moldova by embarking on a limited-scope but overt military invasion – or by pursuing more covert hybrid aggression scenarios. Moldova and the EU need to embrace “active resilience” to address this.
The EU should make use of its significant leverage in Georgia and Moldova to counter their ruling parties’ extensive repertoire of electoral dirty tricks
Russian political proxies are weaponising protests in Moldova, escalating Russia’s hybrid war in the country. Despite optimistic appearances, Moldovan authorities are ill-prepared to face this crisis.
Moldova’s total dependence on Russian gas makes it a key front in Moscow’s hybrid war. The EU should help Moldova diversify its energy supplies to prevent further destabilisation.
Europeans should urgently increase Frontex assistance to Moldova, enhance intelligence cooperation, and consider positioning NATO units based in Romania closer to the country’s border
Russia’s war on Ukraine could have a heavy impact on other post-Soviet countries. Unless the EU helps these countries deal with the effects of the conflict, they could become increasingly dependent on the Kremlin.
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities.
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy.
The EU’s success is mixed in generating reform among Eastern Partnership countries. But patience and self-confidence remain its best bet for the future.
Swift action from Brussels transformed the Moldova crisis on the ground. The EU will now learn to keep oligarchic governments at arm’s length in future.
El pasado jueves 16 de noviembre, ECFR Madrid y esglobal, en colaboración con el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación (MAEC), organizaron un desayuno de trabajo a puerta cerrada
Russia underwent fundamental military reforms which not only included modernization of equipment but also changes on structure and staffing. In the recent past, we have observed significantly faster mobilization of troops within few days and major threats to EU and NATO members.
However, the European Union is badly prepared for the various scenarios regarding its defence strategy. For that a better coordination between EU and NATO, a willingness to react, and a re-focus on military core functions and capacities is of fundamental importance.
The discussion proved to be very lively. Consensus on the strengthening of Russia's military was clearly at hand, but regarding the instruments to encounter this new military giant is still an open question for the foreseeable future.
In the media
For the moment, the European Political Community is essentially a forum for discussion of major strategic issues
Andrew Wilson on how the energy crisis affects tensions between Moldova and the breakaway territory of Transnistria
If the European Union wants to live up to its ambitions in its immediate vicinity, it should invest in the enlargement process rather than create new formats for summit meetings
Piotr Buras critiques the idea of a European Political Community
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