Perhaps nobody remembers but just a year ago Moldova did not have a president and the future of pro-European government of Vlad Filat was more than unclear. Without a doubt, it was the problem No.1 for Moldova and its authorities. They were holding stiff discussions on whether they would succeed or fail, whether there would [...]

It’s been already two weeks since Moldova was shaken by “a hunting scandal”. Top businessmen and government officials from the judicial department are involved in an accident that took place during a hunt. Yet the main issue here is not the death but an attempt to sweep the whole incident under the rug. As the most [...]

„… the process of integration must continue, because it is in the fundamental, nay existential, interest of everyone, not just the Europeans” – these words of Vaclav Havel were reminded by Moldova’s Prime Minister Vlad Filat. And European politicians should remember that, he added in the interview he gave to Tomasz Horbowski and Eastbook.eu. Tomasz [...]

For the first time in history, German Chancellor visited Moldova. Representatives of Moldovan authorities called the visit “historic”, the opposition marked it as “devoid of specifics”. But there is no doubt that Merkel’s four-hour visit to Chisinau is a great success for Moldova, taking into account all the given circumstances. When Forbes determined that Merkel [...]

The “Emotikon” project sums up a journey around the Black Sea. A pair of Polish artists, Robert Rumas (b. 1966) and Piotr Wyrzykowski (b. 1968), travelled across Eastern Europe and Asia Minor seeking experience in a world of geographical, cultural and aesthetical diversity. They visited Romania, Turkey, Georgia and Ukraine, and returned with memories of [...]

Pasha Parfeny, representing Moldova, got to the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest.

New Ambassador of Russia to Moldova, Farit Mukhametshin, has come to Chisinau. According to experts, Mukhametshin’s nomination is a sign of the Kremlin’s increasing interest in Moldova. The Ambassador is meeting with Moldovan politicians and emphasising the significance of Russia-Moldova relations.   Last week, Farit Mukhametshin met with Prime Minister Vlad Filat. During the meeting, [...]

The Parliament of Moldova adopted a strategy on the country’s development “Moldova-2020” on Friday 18 May. The central aim is to fight against poverty and maintain economic growth. The experts, however, remain sceptical. “Moldova-2020” is one of documents on strategic matters prepared by the Moldovan government and PM Vlad Filat. The document assumes that actions [...]

Moldovans prefer the Customs Union to the European Union. However, it is the pro-European parties that are gaining support, and the country’s internal situation is improving.  According to the recent “Public Opinion Barometer” poll, carried out annually by the Moldovan Institute of Public Affairs, 57 percent of Moldovans opt for integration into the Customs Union of [...]

“Boycott Yanukovych, not Ukrainians”, calls Jarosław Hrycak in Krytyka Polityczna (pl). We totally agree.

We support the campaign Don’t play with the dictator aimed at taking the Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships away from Belarus under the rule of Lukashenko.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced that the Yalta Summit of the Central and Eastern European leaders planned in Yalta on 11-12 May had been “rescheduled”.

Are there real oligarchs in Belarus? Siarhei Bohdan from Berlin’s Humboldt University has his doubts…

These cemeteries lost among Moldovan villages and synagogues left on their own are like shells on a shore, mute witnesses of life no longer here. It is an opening of the book authored by Simon Geissbuhler, a Swiss diplomat who, fascinated by the history of Eastern Europe, decided to document the remaining traces of Bessarabian [...]

An operating railway once again links Moldova and Transnistria. Will an effective cooperation and pragmatic approach dominate Chisinau-Tiraspol relations?

Moldovan government decided that Andrei Neguta acted to the detriment of the state, therefore he no longer could act as ambassador of Moldova to Moscow. Though the  decision is not legally valid yet, and is waiting to be signed by the President, the search for a successor has already started.  Andrei Neguta had been the [...]

“I return to Minsk on Friday 27 April”, announced Czech Ambassador to Belarus Jiri Karas. He is the first to go back after the mass exodus of EU ambasadors from EU states at the turn of January and February.

Vienna, Austria, hosts another round of “5+2” negotiations between Moldova and Transnistria under the auspices of OSCE. Both sides agreed on conducting talks as equals which can be considered a small yet positive breakthrough. The breakthrough could be a signal that the atmosphere between Chisinau and Tiraspol is improving. Yet this decision might also become [...]

The Economist writes about another round of Moldova-Transnistria talks, soon held in Vienna. Much has changed, new players have appeared.

During his first visit to Moldova in a new role, Dmitry Rogozin, the Special Representative of the Russian President for Transnistria, announced Moscow’s plans: willingness for cooperation with Chisinau as well as opening a consulate in Tiraspol and modernization of the Russian contingent stationed in the separatist territory. Apart from being appointed the Representative, the [...]

“When God was giving land to the people, there wasn’t any land left for the Moldovan. Yu see, the Moldovan came home too late in the evening, after working hard all day long. All of the land had already been given away. The Moldovan looked so tired and tortured that God pitied him, and gave [...]

Publica TV, the first news station in Moldova, celebrated its second birthday on 7 April.  Broadcasting in Romanian (80 percent of programmes) and Russian (20 percent), Publika TV is becoming more and more recognisable medium in Moldova. Publika TV is the first Moldovan TV channel broadcasting 24 hours a day. “They say that we brainwash [...]

Will Pope Benedict XVI visit Belarus?

Is Yevgeny Shevchuk a Transnistrian Clinton? Marcin Kosienkowski and William Schreiber of New Eastern Europe share their impressions after talking with the new leader of Transnsitria.

Problems with demarcation of the Russia-Ukraine border. The process is among the conditions regarding introduction of visa liberalisation.

“Electing president was a final point of revolution from April 2009″, said Witold Rodkiewicz at the seminar at Polish Institute of International Affairs (Polish PISM). The experts discussed the situation of Moldova after electing Nicolae Timofti as president. “The example of Croatia indicates that integration in the EU is possible. It is a priority to our [...]

Watch: US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul versus a Russian journalist from NTV channel. Is the Ambassador under surveillance?

Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat and leader of Transnistria Yevgeny Shevchuk signed an agreement on restarting railway links between the two banks of the Dniester River.  The first trains connecting Moldova with Transnistria are to start running in April. The railway traffic between Moldova and Transnistria was stopped in 2006, when Moldova and Ukraine introduced [...]

Piotr Oleksy writes about Nicolae Timofti, the new president of Moldova, for Nowa Europa Wschodnia (in Polish).