Moldova urges EU to advance membership talks to counter Moscow
BRUSSELS - Moldova wants to start membership negotiations with the European Union in earnest before a September election to counter Russian disinformation in the country about the EU, Deputy Prime Minister Cristina Gherasimov said.
Both Moldova and neighbouring Ukraine – which is fighting a more than three-year-old Russian invasion - formally began membership talks last June but they have yet to advance to substantive negotiations on key policies.
Although the EU's executive body and nearly all member states say Moldova and Ukraine have met the criteria to do so, Hungary has blocked Kyiv's progress. EU members are reluctant to give Moldova the go-ahead without doing the same for Ukraine.
EU membership is a major strategic goal for both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Moldovan President Maia Sandu as they seek to break away from Russia's influence and anchor their former Soviet republics in the West.
Ahead of a first-ever EU-Moldova summit in Chisinau on Friday, European officials face a dilemma in wanting to affirm to Moldova that the EU is committed to its future integration without stoking Ukrainian concerns that it may be left behind.
Accession negotiations are divided into six thematic sections, known as clusters, covering issues such as fundamental rights, economic policy and foreign relations.
"We truly trust the member states that a solution will be found both for Moldova and for Ukraine to open cluster one in the near future," Gherasimov, Moldova's deputy prime minister for European integration, told Reuters in Brussels.
"For Moldova, the timing is crucial. We have elections on September 28, parliamentary elections where disinformation unfortunately plays a big role, and most of this disinformation targets the EU," Gherasimov said.
Pro-Russian politicians, media outlets and social media accounts allege that the EU is not interested in having Moldova as a member.
"We need to show that when we deliver on our side, this is reciprocated by the EU. And this will help us silence those narratives that want to prove the contrary," Gherasimov said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says letting Ukraine into the EU would drag the whole bloc into war with Russia. EU officials counter that the current debate is just about starting the accession process, which usually takes many years.
While there is no political appetite in the EU for a major round of enlargement in the short term, analysts say the stalemate caused by Hungary's veto raises broader questions.
"There is a lot at stake," said Anastasia Pociumban, a research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations.
"I think when the EU is not able to deliver on this promise, and on this process, the question is: How relevant is the EU then in this new order?" REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
39 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Hitler's Austrian hometown renames two streets honouring Nazis
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox VIENNA - The Austrian hometown of Adolf Hitler has decided to rename two streets commemorating Nazis following years of complaints by activists, officials said on July 3. Austria is regularly criticised for not fully acknowledging its history. Annexed in 1938 by Hitler's Germany, it was only from the late 1980s that the country began to examine its own responsibility in the Holocaust. Numerous places and streets throughout Austria have been renamed, including one in the city of Linz named after Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of the car company, because of his Nazi past. Hitler's hometown Braunau decided late on July 2 to rename two streets named after Hitler associate Josef Reiter and propagandist Franz Resl, municipal councillor Martina Schaefer told AFP. 'There was a secret vote regarding the Josef Reiter and Resl streets – 28 elected officials voted in favour and nine against,' said Ms Schaefer of the opposition Social Democrats. Braunau's municipal government, led by the conservatives, which also rule the country, did not respond to AFP's request for comment. The Austrian Mauthausen Committee, which has long pushed for the streets to be renamed, welcomed a 'decision with symbolic significance'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval World US Treasury chief sees 100 countries getting 10% reciprocal tariff Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Singapore Universities like NUS need to be open, to become a sanctuary for global talent: Vivian Balakrishnan Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Reiter's honorary citizenship in Braunau was 'revoked on March 19 at our instigation', committee board member Robert Eiter told AFP. In 2016, the Austrian government bought the house in the small town on the German border where Hitler was born in 1889 and began transforming it into a police station to avoid it becoming a neo-Nazi pilgrimage site. The Mauthausen Committee, however, advocates for 'a commemorative use of the house', Mr Eiter said. The Mauthausen Committee, named after the former concentration camp, works to maintain the memory of the crimes committed during the Holocaust. In total, 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed and 130,000 forced into exile during the Holocaust. AFP
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Trump says ‘didn't make any progress' with Putin on Ukraine
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump said he made no progress with Vladimir Putin on ending the Ukraine war in a call on Thursday, as the Kremlin insisted the Russian president would stick to his aims in the conflict. Trump's grim assessment came as US-led peace talks on ending the more than three-year-old conflict in Ukraine have stalled, and after Washington paused some weapons shipments to Kyiv. 'It was a pretty long call, we talked about a lot of things including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine. And I'm not happy about that,' Trump told reporters. Asked if he had moved closer to a deal to end the war, Trump replied: 'No, I didn't make any progress with him at all.' Trump's view of the call was unusually bleak. After most of his previous five calls with Putin since returning to power in January he has given optimistic reports of progress towards a deal. But he has shown increasing frustration with Putin after an early pivot towards the Russian leader. In recent weeks he knocked back Putin's offer to mediate in the Iran-Israel conflict, telling him to focus on the Ukraine war instead. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up In Moscow, the Kremlin said the call lasted almost an hour and said that Putin had insisted he would not give up on Russia's goals. 'Our president said that Russia will achieve the aims it set, that is to say the elimination of the root causes that led to the current state of affairs,' Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. 'Russia will not give up on these aims.' Moscow has long described its maximalist aims in Ukraine as getting rid of the 'root causes' of the conflict, demanding that Kyiv give up its Nato ambitions. Zelensky in Denmark Moscow's war in Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands of people since it invaded in February 2022, and Russia now controls large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. Even so, Putin told Trump that Moscow would continue to take part in negotiations. 'He also spoke of the readiness of the Russian side to continue the negotiation process,' Ushakov added. 'Vladimir Putin said that we are continuing to look for a political, negotiated solution to the conflict.' Moscow has for months refused to agree to a US-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Putin of dragging out the process while pushing on with Russia's advance in Ukraine. The Kremlin said that Putin had also 'stressed' to Trump that all conflicts in the Middle East should be solved 'diplomatically', after the US struck nuclear sites in Russia's ally Iran. The conversation came days after Washington announced a decision to pause some weapons shipments in a blow to Kyiv, which has been reliant on Western military support. Kyiv said that Russian strikes on Thursday killed at least eight people in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting ally Denmark on Thursday to meet leading European Union officials. Zelensky told EU allies in Denmark that doubts over US military aid reinforced the need for greater cooperation with Brussels and Nato. He also stressed again that Kyiv had always supported Trump's 'unconditional ceasefire'. A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that Trump and Zelensky planned to speak to each other on Friday. On Wednesday, Kyiv scrambled to clarify with Washington the implications of announcements by the White House and Pentagon on pausing some weapons shipments. 'Continued American support for Ukraine, for our defence, for our people is in our common interest,' Zelensky had said on Wednesday. Russia has consistently called for Western countries to stop sending weapons to Kyiv. AFP
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Harvard cautions foreign students over US airports, social media
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox BOSTON - Harvard University staff advised international students to be cautious about social media posts and warned some groups against arriving at Boston's Logan International Airport. Representatives from Harvard's international office and a Harvard Law School immigration support group held a call on July 3 to provide guidance to foreign students after the university won a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration's efforts to block its ability to enrol such individuals. The Harvard administrators cautioned students that State Department officials have the ability to review social media accounts for student visa applicants, while US Customs and Border Protection can examine personal electronic devices and reject entry based on their contents, according to students who participated, asking not to be identified because the call was private. The Harvard representatives said it's not clear whether this assessment is done by people or artificial intelligence and what exactly constitutes a red flag, although pro-Palestinian, anti-Semitic or posts derogatory of the US appear to be a focus, according to the students. Previous interactions with law enforcement, including minor infractions, will also attract attention. The Harvard representatives cautioned that wiping devices clean risks inviting suspicion, according to the students. The hosts of the call included Ms Maureen Martin, Harvard's director of immigration services, and Mr Jason Corral, a staff attorney at Harvard Law School's immigration and refugee clinic, the students said. A representative for Harvard's international office declined to comment. The Harvard representatives advised Iranians and Chinese nationals studying in particular fields – including science, technology, engineering and mathematics as well as anything related to AI – to exercise particular caution when travelling, according to the students. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval World US Treasury chief sees 100 countries getting 10% reciprocal tariff Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Singapore Universities like NUS need to be open, to become a sanctuary for global talent: Vivian Balakrishnan Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Iranians specifically have faced more scrutiny at Logan Airport and should fly into New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport instead, Mr Corral said on the call, according to the students. It's not clear if other international students would face smoother immigration processes at other airports but several participants said they walked away from the call with the understanding that JFK, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport may be better options than Boston. Ms Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born Harvard researcher, was stopped by immigration officials at Logan Airport in February on her return from France and accused of attempting to smuggle frog embryos into the country . She was released on bail from federal custody by a Boston judge in June after spending four months in detention but indicted on additional charges later that month. A representative for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which oversees Logan Airport, referred all questions to Harvard. The White House has made Harvard its primary target in its mission to reshape higher education. In addition to the attempted crackdown on international student enrollment, the Trump administration has cancelled more than US$2.6 billion (S$3.2 billion) in research funding for Harvard and threatened its tax-exempt status. The government initially accused the school of fostering anti-Semitism, but the attack has since broadened to include accusations of political bias and criticism of diversity initiatives in hiring and admissions. It's not clear if Harvard students are being treated differently than those at other universities. The Trump administration is appealing the injunction over its ban on Harvard's international student enrolment. BLOOMBERG
