The region of Gagauzia is located in the south of the Republic of Moldova and has had the special status of an autonomous territorial unit ever since a failed attempt at secession in the 1990s. The current regional authorities as well as the majority of the Gagauzian population are traditionally sympathetic to Russia and therefore reject Chișinău’s pro-European orientation. This is partly due to a lot of misinformation about EU accession circulating in the region, such as the believe that Moldovans would supposedly be forced to sell their land and give up their culture and religion, or that the Moldovan economy would collapse in the face of European competition. As the country continues its path towards the EU, it remains important to address and counter these fears, especially on the local level. Furthermore, according to the Gagauzian perspective, dialogue with the central government should be reactivated in the future.
Another decisive issue is the current energy crisis triggered by Russia, which has led to a sharp rise of energy prices in Moldova. Up until the end of 2024, Moldova obtained up to 70% of its national electricity consumption from the unrecognised territory of Transnistria, which produced and exported it from subsidised Russian gas. Following the expiry of the gas transport contracts through Ukraine and contrary to Russia’s ongoing supply obligation, for the entire month of January, no gas had been delivered via other possible supply routes. This situation shows that for the sake of strategy, Russia is even letting its pro-Russian allies freeze in order to create a mood against the pro-European central government ahead of the parliamentary elections in the second half of 2025. The EU is helping Moldova to stabilise the situation and has also offered its support to Transnistria.
Building on the three local dialogues in Stefan Voda, Falesti and Glodeni, the fourth local dialogue of the CAPACITY4EU project took place on 8 February 2025 in Ciadîr-Lunga. The dialogue was attended by over 40 officials, civil servants and young activists from the whole region of Gagauzia. Rodica Kulminski, Vadim Pistrinciuc, Vladislav Kulminski and Tatiana Nistorica spoke as experts.
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