Moldova and the EU’s Neighborhood Policy: What partnership?

How have relations between Moldova and the European Union developed over the past decade? The launching of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and then of the Eastern Partnership, which coincided with the coming to power of a pro-European coalition, have significantly stimulated EU-Moldovan relations, now among the tightest in the EU’s “Eastern neighborhood.” The instruments underlying EU policy in Moldova—the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM), the Free Visa Regime, the Association Agreement, and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement— are reviewed; and questions raised about their scope and coherence. Political instability, the Transnistrian conflict and regional tensions are major drawbacks to implementing the ENP.