As far as the eye reaches, the only colours one can see in the main square of Chisinau are the blue and the gold of the European flag. The Moldovan citizens are proudly waving the flags, some even one in each hand. Their faces are turned towards the stage where one of the organizers of the MD-EU 2030 campaign is standing: “We are gathered here today to celebrate our 5-year membership. Only 15 years ago, we could not have imagined that Moldova, the poorhouse of Europe, would be a member of the European Union in 2030”, she says. “We have truly come a long way after striving to integrate into the EU for decades.” Everyone starts cheering; some even cry tears of joy. It seems that the people of Moldova can finally reap the fruits of their labour.

The crops, however, took a long a time to grow. Ever since the possibility of EU membership became real, the Moldovan government had worked steadily towards meeting the key criteria of accession as defined at the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993. The focus lay on the first criteria – the need to have stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. Moldova worked for a long time to fulfil it and the path to stability was a hard one. After the collapse of the former Soviet Union, many of the Communist bureaucrats retained key positions in the government and pursued personal enrichment instead of, for example, establishing an institutional system based on the rule of law and democratic values. As the economy came to a halt in the 90s and as the economic reforms had not yet borne fruit, the population of Moldova, mostly farmers, was focused on day-to-day survival and had little time or interest for politics. In the last fifteen years the Moldovan government has invested a lot in civic education and the effort has paid off. Already at the Moldovan Constitutional Referendum in 2015, there was a record voter turnout. Even more importantly, the voting was free, fair and without external interference – people then knew that this was the first step to something huge: a real democracy. In the following years, constitutional changes were implemented and the entire legal system reformed. Now, even ordinary citizens know that their interests will be represented in the political process, that they have unfettered access to the justice system and, also, that they are now part of a larger community and have the same rights and obligations as every other citizen of the European Union. As for minorities, Moldova granted the right of self-determination to the people of Gagauzia, a minority itn the south of the country, already in 1994. Political progress was also greatly helped by the peaceful resolution of the Transnistrian conflict in 2022. This paved the way for the integration of the Moldovan military into the United European Army.

The creation of a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU was another necessary step towards EU integration. Efforts were made to capitalize on the fertile soil and existing agricultural capacity in Moldova in order to rebuild the food processing sector and wine industry. This was greatly boosted by the EU’s decision to pursue a pan-European agricultural policy. To further encourage Moldova’s economic development and government spending, in 2014, the EU decided to abolish all import taxes on Moldovan goods, especially agricultural products and wine.

As to adhering to the aims of political, economic and monetary union, at the begin- Smaranda Vedrasco Theresianische Akademie Wien 2nd Prize Moldova living its dream – Europe in 2030 5 ning of their journey towards the European Union, this point was the one the citizens of Moldova were the most apprehensive about, because the forces of the past were still strong. However, Moldova has been a part of the European Union for five years now and the changes and developments have proven sustainable. Much remains to be done, but it appears that the Moldovan government is intent on achieving success and is working to raise the bar ever higher. However, the Moldovan citizens are not yet satisfied. They expect much of their government, as they wish for themselves and their children an even brighter future in the European family.

Perhaps this point is best illustrated by Nastea Petrescu, a supermarket saleswoman, who says: “Moldova joining the European Union was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, and us. Moldova’s accession to the EU improved my life, the life of my children and that of the country. We are free now from a corrupt government, from uncertainty, from not trusting in the future. Now the future is wide open because this is now also our Europe.”