About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (August 14, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemnd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 Updated August 14, 2023 Moldova: An Overview Moldova is one of three post-Soviet states-together with Ukraine and Georgia-that seeks greater integration with the West in the face of Russian resistance and territorial occupation. Many Members of Congress have long supported Moldova's democratic trajectory and territorial integrity and have called on Russia to withdraw its military forces from Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria. Moldova's president and ruling party were elected on pro- European platforms in 2020 and 2021. Their reform- oriented agenda was buoyed by a European Union (EU) decision in June 2022 to name Moldova a candidate for EU membership (together with Ukraine). The United States and the EU have supported Moldova's efforts to implement EU- related reforms while taking steps to curtail Russian influence and address the security, economic, and political impacts of Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine. Political an d E conormic Background Moldova's political environment has been contentious since 2009, when Western-oriented parties first unseated a Communist Party-led government. In July 2021, Moldovan President Maia Sandu's reform-oriented Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won snap parliamentary elections. PAS's victory marked the first time in 20 years that a party received an absolute majority of votes in a parliamentary election. The party's victory, and the formation of a single- party government, ended years of rule by unstable coalitions that often included allegedly corrupt political forces. Prime Minister Dorin Recean has led the government since February 2023. President Sandu herself was directly elected in November 2020, defeating incumbent Igor Dodon, 58% to 42%, in a second-round vote. At the time, Dodon was the de facto head of the Russian-leaning, socially conservative Party of Socialists, the former ruling party. The presidency holds symbolic importance but has relatively limited formal powers under Moldova's parliamentary system. In the July 2021 snap parliamentary elections, PAS won 53% of the vote and 63 of 101 seats. A Socialist-led bloc won 27% of the vote and 32 seats. The third party to enter parliament, the populist, Russia-leaning Shor Party (banned in 2023, see below), was led by political and business figure Ilan Shor, who fled the country in 2019 while appealing a seven-year sentence for his role in a $1 billion bank fraud scandal from 2014; in April 2023, an appeals court sentenced Shor in absentia to 15 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of nearly $300 million in assets. The PAS government pledged to strengthen the rule of law. One early action was the indictment of Moldova's former prosecutor general on corruption-related charges. In May 2022, authorities placed former President Dodon under house arrest for six months; Dodon is under investigation on charges related to corruption and treason. Moldovan officials have noted that addressing challenges arising from Russia's war against Ukraine slowed reform efforts. Inflation, high energy costs, and other economic pressures also have weakened support for Sandu and the ruling PAS. Moldova is scheduled to hold local elections in November 2023 and presidential elections in late 2024. One of Europe's poorest countries, Moldova has made significant progress in reducing poverty and promoting inclusive growth, according to the World Bank. Moldova's annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth declined by 8% in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but rebounded in 2021 with 14% growth. GDP declined by 6% in 2022, due in part to the economic impact of Russia's war against Ukraine. An estimated 1 million or more Moldovan citizens live abroad; in recent years, labor remittances have been estimated at more than 15% of GDP. Figure I. Moldova at a Glance Notes: Figure created by CRS using Moldova National Bureau of Statistics and World Bank (does not include Transnistria). I mpact of Russka's War on U kraine Russia's war against Ukraine has created new challenges for Moldova. Government officials have expressed concern that Russia could seek to attack and occupy Moldova if Russian armed forces were to seize control of nearby areas of southern Ukraine. With a resident population of under 3 million, Moldova hosts more than 115,000 refugees from Ukraine; many more have transited Moldova. Moldova also has faced worsened energy security and cost crises and has had among the highest inflation rates in Europe. Since 2022, Russian-leaning political parties and individuals in Moldova have come under greater scrutiny as part of broader efforts to curtail Russian influence in Moldova (also see U.S. Relations below). Ilan Shor and

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most