NEWSLETTER Moldovan citizens at a rally in support of the European path on June 23 in Chisinau. August 2025 The Republic of Moldova and the difficult road to EU reforms Topics of the edition: 1. Nadine Gogu, director of the Centre for Independent Journalism: Propaganda is now more prevalent on the internet and less so on TV, as it has migrated to the online sphere 2. Editorial by Mădălin Necșuțu, TVR Moldova journalist: Why the changes must be genuine in the European style and not just for show for the Republic of Moldova 3. Vadim Vieru, Promo-LEX lawyer: National human rights institutions are active, but they depend too much on external funding, which makes them vulnerable 4. Adrian Ermurachi, IPRE expert: The European Commission’s recommendation is to review the state salary model to make it more competitive with the private sector T he Republic of Moldova is advancing from station to station on the train bound for Brussels. Embarking in May 2022 in the context of the EU’s firm commitment to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, immediately after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova has taken real steps towards closer ties with the EU. More than ever, the EU has shown unprecedented openness towards the Republic of Moldova, which is viewed with great sympathy in Brussels. However, this does not necessarily mean leniency. The authorities in Chișinău must match Brussels’ political goodwill with maximum internal efforts to reform the state in line with European requirements. The stage at which the Republic of Moldova now finds itself with the EU is a technical one in which all EU rules needs to be met without excuses or half measures. Moldova needs to have a clear vision, an unwavering line and course of action, and, above all, a great deal of political will. The effort is twofold, and no one has any doubts about this, because the states that previously joined the EU did not do so under the threat of a world power’s weapons and with a war in the vicinity. However, all processes related to internal capabilities need to be accelerated. The main criterion, however, must be the quality of the reforms so that they create a degree of irreversibility as close as possible, after the institutions and their functioning have been cleansed of corruption. Foreign Policy Association together with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung offer you a newsletter on foreign policy and European integration issues of the Republic of Moldova. The newsletter is part of the“Foreign Policy Dialogue” joint Project. Monthly newsletter, No.8(234), August 2025 1