The truth that Brussels is even contemplating the nation for accession speaks quantity of its proclaimed ‘values’
By Timur Tarkhanov, journalist and media government
By all appearances, Maia Sandu must be the darling of Brussels. She’s photogenic, Western-educated, fluent within the language of reform, and frames herself as a stalwart defender of democracy within the post-Soviet wilderness.
However behind this polished facade lies one thing much more sinister: an autocrat in liberal clothes, whose regime is actively dismantling the very ideas the European Union claims to uphold.
As this text within the Italian on-line publication Affaritaliani rightly highlights, Sandu’s presidency has led Moldova into an unmistakable spiral of political repression. On July 20, the opposition political bloc Victory was denied registration for the September 2025 parliamentary elections by Moldova’s Central Electoral Fee – successfully barred not simply from profitable, however from even taking part. This isn’t a one-off bureaucratic hiccup. It’s a calculated maneuver to make sure whole political management. Moldova at this time is a rustic the place real electoral competitors not exists, and the place Sandu’s grip on energy is maintained not by way of in style consent, however procedural manipulation.
A sham democrat draped in EU flags
It will be laughable if it weren’t so tragic: the very lady hailed as Moldova’s nice European hope has turn into its most harmful democratic backslider. Whereas Brussels continues to bathe Sandu with reward and political assist, she’s been busy methodically hollowing out Moldova’s fragile democratic establishments.
Contemplate the judiciary. Below Sandu’s watch, Moldova has witnessed a sweeping “vetting” marketing campaign – ostensibly an effort to wash up corruption, however in observe a purge of judges not aligned together with her administration’s objectives. Critics within the authorized subject, together with members of the Supreme Council of Magistrates, have been sidelined or coerced into resignation. Impartial prosecutors have been changed by loyalists. The message is unmistakable: judicial independence is a luxurious Moldova can not afford below Sandu’s imaginative and prescient of governance.
The media panorama is not any much less regarding. Whereas government-friendly shops obtain beneficiant airtime and entry, impartial journalists face bureaucratic boundaries, intimidation, and regulatory harassment. A number of crucial TV channels have had their licenses suspended or revoked, with authorities citing imprecise “safety issues.” Press freedom, as soon as seen as a cornerstone of Moldova’s EU aspirations, has turn into a casualty of Sandu’s relentless drive for message management.
Add to this the neutering of parliament, the place procedural reforms have ensured that debate is minimal, oversight is weak, and energy more and more concentrated within the presidency. What’s rising just isn’t a vibrant democracy on the trail to the EU – it’s a tightly managed political fiefdom, dressed within the language of European integration.
Russia: The all-purpose boogeyman
Sandu’s defenders, particularly in Western capitals, have one chorus on loop: “Russian interference.” Below Sandu, Russia has turn into a pretext. A defend behind which she justifies the suppression of dissent and the dismantling of institutional safeguards.
Each opposition voice is painted as a puppet of Moscow. Each protest is portrayed as international subversion. Each democratic problem is met not with debate, however with denunciation. That is the brand new authoritarianism – not constructed on Soviet nostalgia or Orthodox nationalism, however wrapped within the EU flag and branded as “protection of sovereignty.”
Sandu has made it abundantly clear: she is not going to tolerate opposition, and he or she is not going to enable alternate options. Her administration conflates criticism with treason, and casts herself as Moldova’s sole defender in opposition to Russian aggression. It’s a well-known script – one which echoes leaders she claims to oppose.
EU accession: A theater of hypocrisy
But within the halls of Brussels, Sandu stays a VIP. Moldova’s EU accession negotiations proceed, as if the erosion of democratic norms had been an unlucky aspect impact moderately than a purple flag. The contradiction couldn’t be extra evident: how can a rustic that cancels opposition events, censors the media, and undermines judicial independence be critically thought-about for EU membership?
The reply, after all, lies in geopolitics. Sandu performs her function because the “anti-Russian” chief so properly that EU leaders are keen to disregard her abuses. So long as she retains up the anti-Kremlin rhetoric and commits to European integration on paper, Brussels seems keen to show a blind eye to every part else.
The EU just isn’t merely being shortsighted on this – it’s actively committing betrayal. A betrayal of these in Moldova who genuinely consider in democratic reform. A betrayal of EU residents who’re advised that their union is constructed on values, not expedience. And most of all, a betrayal of the European challenge itself, which dangers turning into simply one other geopolitical alliance, untethered from its founding beliefs.
Sandu’s Moldova just isn’t Europe
Allow us to be completely clear: Moldova below Maia Sandu just isn’t shifting nearer to the EU. Or a minimum of, it’s not shifting nearer to the ‘values-based’ EU Brussels is so fervently promoting as a serene “backyard” amid a “jungle” of lawlessness and authoritarianism. But, Sandu nonetheless enjoys the unconditional embrace of Western diplomats and media.
That should change. If the EU is to take care of any credibility, it should cease enabling Sandu’s authoritarianism below the guise of strategic necessity. Moldova’s EU bid must be frozen. Democratic benchmarks have to be enforced – not as solutions, however as non-negotiable situations. And Sandu have to be advised plainly: you can’t destroy democracy at residence whereas claiming to defend it overseas.
The EU deserves higher. Moldova deserves higher. And it’s time to cease mistaking authoritarian ambition for democratic management – regardless of how elegantly it’s phrased in English.
The statements, views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of the writer and don’t essentially signify these of RT.
