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Morning opening: Moldova chooses Europe
Jakub Krupa
And now a big sigh of relief.
Despite large scale Russian attempts to interfere with its parliamentary election, Moldova has returned a pro-European government, rejecting Moscow’s attempts to force it to abandon its path to join the European Union.
With more than 99.9% of the ballots counted, Maia Sandu’s pro-western Action and Solidarity party (PAS) garnered 50.16% of the vote to elect members of the 101-seat parliament.
That compared to 24.19% for a Moscow-leaning alliance of Soviet-nostalgic parties headed by former president Igor Dodon, according to results published on the election commission’s website.
My colleague Pjotr Sauer explained that Sandu’s PAS party outperformed pre-election surveys, which had suggested it would remain the largest party but risk falling short of a majority – potentially limiting her push to deliver on a pledge of EU membership within a decade.
But the result marks a major victory for Sandu, who has staked her presidency on a pro-European course and accused Russia of deploying unprecedented underhand tactics to sway voters in the impoverished nation squeezed between Ukraine and Romania.
The result will be welcomed by Brussels and in national capitals, after EU leaders spent a significant political capital on supporting Sandu in the buildup to the closely contested vote, including a rare joint visit by France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, and Poland’s Donald Tusk last month.
I will bring you early reactions to this historic vote.
Separately, I will also look at the latest on unidentified drones flying in the Nordics, as they continued disrupting the region’s air operations over the weekend. Denmark has introduced a civilian no-drones zone overnight as it prepares for two major summits in Copenhagen later this week. Let’s see how it works in practice.
It’s Monday, 29 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Moldovans chose ‘democracy, reform and European future,’ EU’s Costa says
European Council president António Costa is joining in congratulations.
He says on X:
“The people of Moldova have spoken and their message is loud and clear. They chose democracy, reform, and a European future, in the face of pressure and interference from Russia. The EU stands with Moldova. Every step of the way.”
‘Tusk hails Moldova’s Sandu for ‘saving democracy and keeping European course’
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has also taken to social media this morning to congratulate Moldova on the election outcome.
On X, he says:
“It took real courage of the Moldovan nation and Maia Sandu personally to win this election.
Not only did you save democracy and kept the European course, but you have also stopped Russia in its attempts to take control over the whole region.
A good lesson for us all.”
‘The will of Moldovan people has prevailed,’ Macron says as he welcomes election result
Speaking of which, France’s Macron makes it clear that he is very pleased with the result in Moldova.
In a post on X, he says:
“Despite interference and pressure, the will of the Moldovan people has prevailed. France stands with Moldova in its pursuit of European aspirations and towards freedom and sovereignty.”
Morning opening: Moldova chooses Europe
Jakub Krupa
And now a big sigh of relief.
Despite large scale Russian attempts to interfere with its parliamentary election, Moldova has returned a pro-European government, rejecting Moscow’s attempts to force it to abandon its path to join the European Union.
With more than 99.9% of the ballots counted, Maia Sandu’s pro-western Action and Solidarity party (PAS) garnered 50.16% of the vote to elect members of the 101-seat parliament.
That compared to 24.19% for a Moscow-leaning alliance of Soviet-nostalgic parties headed by former president Igor Dodon, according to results published on the election commission’s website.
My colleague Pjotr Sauer explained that Sandu’s PAS party outperformed pre-election surveys, which had suggested it would remain the largest party but risk falling short of a majority – potentially limiting her push to deliver on a pledge of EU membership within a decade.
But the result marks a major victory for Sandu, who has staked her presidency on a pro-European course and accused Russia of deploying unprecedented underhand tactics to sway voters in the impoverished nation squeezed between Ukraine and Romania.
The result will be welcomed by Brussels and in national capitals, after EU leaders spent a significant political capital on supporting Sandu in the buildup to the closely contested vote, including a rare joint visit by France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, and Poland’s Donald Tusk last month.
I will bring you early reactions to this historic vote.
Separately, I will also look at the latest on unidentified drones flying in the Nordics, as they continued disrupting the region’s air operations over the weekend. Denmark has introduced a civilian no-drones zone overnight as it prepares for two major summits in Copenhagen later this week. Let’s see how it works in practice.
It’s Monday, 29 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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