Designated Romanian PM: “Romania must be Moldova’s main support in joining EU”

Romania must be Moldova’s main support in its process of joining the European Union, both through political and diplomatic backing and through concrete assistance for preparing integration. Romania’s designated prime minister, Luca Niculescu, today made statements to this effect, in a speech delivered in parliament during the meeting for the Romanian government’s investiture.

“This is a stage in which Moldova’s accession process to the European Union is accelerating, and the policy of the Romanian state must adapt to this new reality. Romania must be Moldova’s main support in this process, both by providing political and diplomatic backing for its accession at the European level and through the concrete assistance we can offer the Moldovan authorities in preparing for integration,” Niculescu said.

The designated prime minister said that, against the backdrop of the profound geopolitical changes of recent months, the relations between Romania and Moldova were entering a new stage, offering opportunities to develop joint projects in the energy, economic, infrastructure and security sectors.

At the same time, Niculescu emphasized that the war in Ukraine was changing the economic and strategic geography of the Black Sea, while the Port of Constanta, the Danube and transport infrastructure, together with connections to Moldova and Ukraine, provided Romania with important strategic advantages.

“We will defend them and support the involvement of Romanian companies in Ukraine’s reconstruction and the development of an economic and logistical corridor connecting Romania, Moldova and southwestern Ukraine. We must not be merely a transit corridor for Ukraine’s reconstruction, but one of the economic actors in this process,” Luca Niculescu said.

Luca Niculescu was designated as a candidate for the position of prime minister of Romania by President Nicusor Dan on October 5, 2026, following a political crisis triggered by the dismissal of the government led by Ilie Bolojan through a no-confidence motion on May 5. Niculescu is a diplomat, former Romanian ambassador to France and former journalist. Since September 2022, he has served as a secretary of state at the Foreign Affairs Ministry and has coordinated Romania’s accession process to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).