Moldova is the poorest country in Europe, with a lower gross domestic product (GDP) per capita than Albania and Kosovo. Only war-torn Ukraine now ranks below Moldova. Theoretically, the most significant threat to Moldova could be a military attack from Russian forces stationed in Transnistria. For Moldova, the only viable path is toward the EU and NATO. As a small country with limited resources, it can only secure prospects for development through broader integration.

At stake in Chisinau is not only the reputation of pro-Western Moldovan politicians, but also that of the many Western governments – like Romania and Poland, the EU and the US – promoting this direction.

Today, it is more and more recognized that they belong to Romania, regardless of their ethnic origin. As long as they have a destructive tendency to denigrate their origin and belonging to a great culture such as Romanian, they will always remain a secondary nation.

The name of the country’s official language is a hot political topic, Romanian or Moldovan, although Moldovan is not actually considered a language.