From neighbourhood to membership: Moldova’s persuasion strategy towards the EU

Moldova is complying with the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the new framework of partnership with neighbouring countries that was created by the European Union (EU) in 2005. The ENP prompted in the partner countries a process of convergence with EU rules. The ENP‐promoted legislation convergence in the Eastern partner countries can therefore be a first step to the enlargement of the EU to Former Soviet Union Republics (FSURs) such as Moldova, even if it is generally understood that such enlargement is not yet on the cards. In this article we analyse whether the ENP‐prompted process of convergence of the Moldovan legislation with the EU rules (law, institutions, and practices) increases this country’s chances of EU membership. We argue that this process of convergence is in many ways similar to compliance with the Copenhagen convergence criteria. Moldova might be able to achieve EU candidate status sooner than is currently expected.