Moldova needs justice and anti-corruption results to close EU accession chapters
The Republic of Moldova cannot provisionally close negotiations with the European Union on the remaining accession chapters without first meeting a series of conditions related to judicial reform, the fight against corruption, the protection of fundamental rights, and border security. To meet these requirements, the authorities in Chișinău have drawn up nearly 300 measures, whose implementation is now in its final reporting stage.
Accession negotiations involve several stages and conditions that candidate countries must meet. These include criteria for opening negotiation chapters, interim benchmarks, and criteria for closing them. For the Republic of Moldova, Chapters 23 and 24—which cover the judiciary, fundamental rights, justice, freedom, and security—are of particular importance, stated Rodica Crudu, the Government’s State Secretary for European Integration, during the program "Paralela 47" on Radio Moldova.
Meeting the interim benchmarks for these two chapters is mandatory before the Republic of Moldova can provisionally close negotiations in other areas. Consequently, even if the country makes progress in sectors such as the economy, transport, or energy, those advances will not be enough to reach that stage without corresponding results in these fundamental areas.
"Our negotiating framework, received at the first Intergovernmental Conference, stipulates that meeting the interim benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24 is a prerequisite for the provisional closure of negotiations in all other areas. In other words, the European Union’s position is this: unless you reform your judiciary, demonstrate progress in combating corruption, ensure the protection of fundamental rights, establish effective mechanisms for managing migration flows and asylum, and guarantee border security, you cannot provisionally close negotiations on the other chapters," explained Rodica Crudu. The State Secretary said that the Government began preparations to meet these requirements even before the official opening of negotiations on the "Fundamentals" cluster of chapters. The authorities set out actions to be completed by September 2026, with progress evaluated periodically with representatives of the European Commission.
"We formulated a set of actions—just under 300 measures—to meet those interim benchmarks. Since February of this year, we have held monthly monitoring meetings with the European Commission, during which we reported on the progress made in implementing these measures. All these measures were targeted for September of this year, and we are now, I would say, in the final stretch of reporting on the fulfillment of these criteria," the official stated.
Completing these actions would allow Chișinău to present the European Commission and the member states with further evidence of the country's capacity to continue negotiations and meet the conditions for the provisional closure of chapters.
In parallel, the Republic of Moldova continues to implement roadmaps concerning the rule of law, public administration reform, and the functioning of democratic institutions. These documents include measures that must be carried out by the end of 2027.
"All these roadmaps target the end of 2027; in other words, all the actions are due by the end of 2027," noted Rodica Crudu. The Republic of Moldova has set the goal of concluding technical accession negotiations with the European Union by 2028. The process comprises 33 chapters, organized into six thematic groups known as "clusters." Four of these have already been opened—most recently "Internal Market" and "Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth"—on October 13, during the fourth Republic of Moldova–EU Intergovernmental Conference held in Luxembourg.
Previously, on June 15, negotiations opened for the "Fundamentals" cluster, followed on July 14 by the "External Relations" cluster. Two groups of chapters remain: "Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity" and "Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Cohesion."
The next milestone is scheduled for October 28, when the Republic of Moldova is set to receive its roadmap for EU accession, alongside Ukraine, Montenegro, and Albania.
