{"id":496,"date":"2025-09-28T12:49:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T12:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/?p=496"},"modified":"2026-06-16T12:52:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:52:52","slug":"moldovas-election-is-a-test-for-russian-influence-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/?p=496","title":{"rendered":"Moldova\u2019s Election Is a Test for Russian Influence in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">September 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an article published by Carnegie Europe in September 2025, Oana Popescu-Zamfir examines Moldova\u2019s parliamentary elections as a decisive moment for the country\u2019s European future. As Moldova prepares to launch its first accession negotiations with the European Union, the election also serves as a test of resilience against Russian attempts at interference aimed at slowing down, or even reversing, the process of European integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"481\" src=\"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/moldovas-election-1024x481.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/moldovas-election-1024x481.png 1024w, https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/moldovas-election-300x141.png 300w, https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/moldovas-election-768x361.png 768w, https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/moldovas-election.png 1026w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moldova has become a prime target for the Kremlin\u2019s influence strategies. Disinformation, covert funding of political networks, manipulation of social media, and the exploitation of identity, religious, and energy issues: these various tactics are part of a broader campaign aimed at undermining democratic institutions, weakening public support for the European Union, and keeping the country in a state of geopolitical uncertainty. The goal is not necessarily to secure an openly pro-Russian electoral outcome, but rather to delay reforms, divide pro-European forces, and make the accession process more vulnerable to political deadlocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The stakes extend far beyond Moldova\u2019s borders. A setback for Moldova on its path toward the EU would weaken the European Union\u2019s position in the Black Sea region, reduce Ukraine\u2019s strategic depth and undermine the legitimacy of the enlargement policy. By contrast, holding reliable elections and continuing reforms could demonstrate that a small state facing constant external pressure is capable of strengthening its democratic resilience and pursuing its European integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can read the article <em>&#8220;Moldova\u2019s Election Is a Test for Russian Influence in Europe&#8221;<\/em> by Oana Popescu-Zamfir, published by Carnegie Europe in September 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/europe\/research\/2025\/09\/moldovas-election-is-a-test-for-russian-influence-in-europe\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/europe\/research\/2025\/09\/moldovas-election-is-a-test-for-russian-influence-in-europe\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>September 2025 In an article published by Carnegie Europe in September 2025, Oana Popescu-Zamfir examines Moldova\u2019s parliamentary elections as a decisive moment for the country\u2019s European future. As Moldova prepares to launch its first accession negotiations with the European Union, the election also serves as a test of resilience against Russian attempts at interference aimed 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2025 In an article published by Carnegie Europe in September 2025, Oana Popescu-Zamfir examines Moldova\u2019s parliamentary elections as a decisive moment for the country\u2019s European future. As Moldova prepares to launch its first accession negotiations with the European Union, the election also serves as a test of resilience against Russian attempts at interference aimed&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenextmile.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}