Interim Romanian PM Bolojan pledges PNL backing for Moldova's EU bid at PAS congress after Țiganca tribute
Interim Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan, speaking at the ruling PAS party congress in Chișinău, pledged the National Liberal Party's continued support for Moldova's EU integration and advised the party to leverage its parliamentary majority.
Wreath-laying at Țiganca
On Saturday, interim prime minister Ilie Bolojan laid a wreath at the Romanian Heroes Monastery in Țiganca, Moldova, honouring soldiers who died in the summer of 1941 during the liberation of Bessarabia. In a social media post, he called the cemetery "a place of gratitude" and stressed the duty to keep the memory of the fallen alive. He then travelled to Chișinău for the next day's party congress.
- Wreath-laying at Țiganca Romanian Heroes Monastery to honour soldiers fallen in 1941
- Addresses PAS congress in Chișinău, pledges PNL support for EU accession and advises on reform
Speech at the PAS congress
Addressing delegates of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) on Sunday, Bolojan offered congratulations on the opening of EU accession negotiations and expressed hope that Moldova could join the bloc in 2028. He urged the party to use its parliamentary majority to push ahead with reforms.
Make the most of the circumstances, because you have a great advantage: a majority in Parliament. In Romania, the situation is much more complicated and things are hard to bring together.
He assured the audience that the National Liberal Party (PNL) would support Moldova regardless of its own position in government or opposition. Bolojan also advised PAS to remain united and focused on the principles of justice, correctness, and dignity.
EU accession and Romania–Moldova ties
Bolojan highlighted recent bilateral infrastructure projects such as electricity grid upgrades, the Pașcani–Ungheni motorway segment, and a new bridge, framing them as steps toward economic integration. He argued that Moldova's fast-track accession is possible with government and administrative mobilisation, pointing to Romania's more complicated political landscape as a contrast.
I am honoured to greet you today and, first of all, please allow me to congratulate you on opening the EU accession negotiations — a correct step, a step that, when history is written, the Party of Action and Solidarity will be in the chapter of people who laid a cornerstone for this important project for Moldova.
Criticism of Romania's democratic record
Not all voices at the congress were supportive of Romania's example. Writer Constantin Cheianu warned that EU membership does not guarantee democratic resilience, pointing to Romania's own trajectory after nearly two decades in the bloc.
After accession, you will need a party as strong, perhaps even stronger than PAS is now. We can be a serious, democratic, respected country in the EU, but we can just as easily become a corrupt and undemocratic one, as happened with Romania, which, after almost 20 years in the EU, perpetuated a state model that we escaped in 2019.
His comments reflected the underlying tensions in Bucharest that coloured the congress debates.
Political backdrop
The visit came amid a political crisis in Romania that has complicated the government's own reform agenda. Bolojan, who holds the post of interim prime minister, noted that Romania's fragmented parliamentary arithmetic made it difficult to gather majorities, unlike PAS's position in Moldova. The congress served as a reminder of the close but sometimes complicated relationship between the two countries, with both sides using each other's experiences as lessons for the future.
