European Parliament condemns Russia’s interference in Moldova
The European Parliament adopted on October 9 a resolution issuing a strong warning against continued Russian attempts to derail Moldova’s pro-European trajectory.
The text, approved by 508 votes in favour, 53 against and 104 abstentions, vehemently condemns Russia’s escalating malicious activities, interference and hybrid operations ahead of Moldovans going to the polls to vote in the country’s presidential election and constitutional referendum on EU integration on October 20.
MEPs highlighted the role played by a plethora of malicious actors, including pro-Russian Moldovan oligarchs and Russia’s state-funded RT network, in carrying out voter fraud schemes as well as cyber operations and information warfare.
They called on the EU and its member states to ensure that all necessary assistance is provided to Moldova to strengthen its institutional mechanisms and ability to respond to hybrid threats.
According to MEPs, Moldovan security services recently stated that Russia has spent about 100 million euro to undermine the upcoming electoral process in order to get Moldovans to vote against closer ties with the EU.
On October 3 2024, Moldovan authorities uncovered a large-scale voter fraud scheme financed by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, involving $15 million being transferred to 130 000 Moldovans as part of a voter bribery operation.
Condemning these tactics, the European Parliament called on Russia to respect Moldova’s independence, cease provocations, and withdraw military forces from its territory.
It repeated its previous calls for all ammunition stored in the Cobasna depot in the Transnistria breakaway region to be destroyed.
Against the backdrop of increasing Russian interference, the resolution calls on the Council of the EU to adopt further EU sanctions against individuals undermining Moldova’s sovereignty.
MEPs urged countries and territories hosting wanted Moldovan fugitives like Ilan Shor and Vladimir Plahotniuc to extradite them to Moldova for trial.
The European Parliament reaffirmed its support for Moldova’s path towards EU accession, calling on the European Commission to include the country in the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) and to prioritise funding for EU candidate countries in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034.
With EU accession talks with Moldova already having begun, MEPs called for a faster screening process and the timely organisation of the subsequent intergovernmental conferences.
To boost Moldova’s resilience against hybrid threats, the European Parliament urged the EU to continue to strengthen cooperation with the country in the fields of strategic communication, support for journalists and civil society and the promotion of independent Russian-language media content.
