Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Moldova for talks with President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Dorin Recean on Wednesday, which mainly focussed on security issues related to the Ukraine war on Moldova’s eastern border.

Rasmus Nilsson, from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London, told TVP World that Scholz’s visit was “on behalf of, more or less, the rest of the EU” in an effort to show “we [the EU] are interested in this region, we’re interested in the stable, democratic region, democratic Moldova.”

“We see you, we want to invest in you, and we want to invest in a sustainable future,” is Scholz’s symbolic message, according to Nilsson.

For more than two years, Moldova has had candidate status for joining the EU, with a target date of 2030 for entering the bloc.

The German chancellor has expressed his support for the country’s trajectory:

“I am impressed by what the Republic of Moldova and its citizens are doing in terms of reforms that are important on Moldova’s road to the EU,” he said.

An important moment in Moldova’s national politics is approaching, with a presidential election as well as a referendum on EU accession set for October 20 this year.

These events are being closely monitored by a pro-Russian separatist enclave of the country called Transnistria, which has been garnering support from Moscow over recent years.

In February this year, the government of Transnistria asked Russia for “protection” from Chișinău for introducing customs regulations on imports from Moldova.

Nonetheless, experts are optimistic about Moldova’s accession into the EU.

Andreas Umland, a political scientist from the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, told TVP World:

“Even with an unsolved Transnistria issue, Moldova can enter the EU. Otherwise, I don’t think the negotiations would have started.”