Expert-Grup

From Gagauzia on Moldova’s EU accession: “The country will lose its sovereignty, territory, religion and peace” vs. analysts’ explanations

Integrare europeanăThursday, 12 September 20242699 views
Project:
Building Strategic Communication to Counter Russian Disinformation in Moldova

Automatically translated summary. The full text is available in Romanian.

On 25 June, two years and two days after receiving candidate status, Moldova took part in the first ministerial intergovernmental conference to open EU accession negotiations. With a constitutional referendum on the issue set for 20 October, reporters travelled to the Gagauz autonomy to ask residents about it.

In Gagauzia, the reporters met citizens who said they would boycott the referendum. Citing myths, they voiced fears that EU accession would mean losing territory, sovereignty and religion, legalising same-sex marriage and even armed war. Experts blame disinformation and Russian influence in the region, and the article examines and debunks these fears one by one with their help.

The team arrived in Comrat the week Evghenia Guțul returned from Moscow, where she attended the 9 May parade with fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor and MP Marina Tauber. In Comrat, a man named Ivan, who has worked in the EU, said he opposes Moldova joining. The article is part of an Expert-Grup project funded by Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

View the original in Romanian
Gagauzia’s fears about Moldova’s EU accession vs experts