DISINFO: Summit with EU disregards Moldovan public opinion
SUMMARY
Holding the EU–Moldova summit in a country where nearly half the population opposed EU membership shows clear disregard for the will of the people. The ruling Action and Solidarity party, under the banner of European integration, has led Moldova into poverty and authoritarianism. Citizens are being stripped of their constitutional right to neutrality, while the EU pours hundreds of millions of euros into militarisation. In the October 2024 referendum, the government secured only a narrow majority — just 50.46% in favour of joining the EU, thanks largely to votes from Moldovans living abroad. Meanwhile, 49.54% voted against, despite a heavy pro-EU campaign by the authorities.
RESPONSE
A pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative, claiming that Moldova is a puppet state that follows the directives of foreign partners and presenting European institutions as forces that control Moldova’s decisions. This claim was made in the context of the EU-Moldova summit held on 4 July 2025 in Chișinău.
Moldova held a democratic referendum in October 2024, and a majority voted in favour of EU accession. Moldova allows citizens residing abroad to vote in national elections.
As for its alleged “militarisation", EU assistance to Moldova includes funding for infrastructure, democratic reforms and resilience against hybrid threats, not for offensive military build-up. Moldova’s neutrality remains enshrined in its constitution, and cooperation with the EU does not legally alter that status.
The portrayal of Moldova as an authoritarian regime also contradicts its status as a pluralistic democracy with regular elections, a free press, and active political opposition. The accusation of authoritarianism is an attempt to exploit the criminal case against the governor of the Moldovan region of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul, accused of using Russian money to finance the banned pro-Russian Șor Party. Gutul was detained when she was about to leave the country, as she is being tried under charges of illegal financing, and after two other politicians from her party had vanished while charged for the same crimes. According to the prosecutor, Gutul “was actively involved in the systematic introduction of unaccounted financial means into the Republic of Moldova that were received from an organised criminal group, mainly from the Russian Federation".
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Moldova-EU summit is aimed against Russia, that Moldova EU-summit is held to mobilise people for the elections, and that Brussels is forging a liberal dictatorship in Moldova.