On strengthening Moldova’s resilience against Russian hybrid threats and malign interference

B100357/2025

European Parliament resolution on strengthening Moldova’s resilience against Russian hybrid threats and malign interference

(2025/2811(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Moldova, in particular its resolution of 18 June 2025 on the 2023 and 2024 Commission reports on Moldova and its resolution of 9 October 2024 on strengthening Moldova’s resilience against Russian interference ahead of the upcoming presidential election and a constitutional referendum on EU integration,

– having regard to the visit of three EU Heads of State or Government to Moldova on 27 August 2025,

– having regard to the joint declaration following the first Republic of Moldova–EU summit of 4 July 2025,

– having regard to the visit of the Commissioner for Enlargement to Moldova on 9 May 2025 (Europe Day),

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 28 September 2025 Moldova will hold parliamentary elections that will determine the country’s further progress towards EU accession;

B. whereas Moldova held a referendum on 20 October 2024, the outcome of which confirmed that EU accession would be enshrined into Moldova’s constitution, despite various forms of manipulative interference to destabilise the country, including the illicit financing of political actors, disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks;

C. whereas there are numerous reports of renewed attempts at interference by Russia and Russian proxy actors with the aim of derailing the country’s process of democratic reform and European integration;

D. whereas on 15 July 2025 the EU imposed sanctions against seven individuals and three entities responsible for actions aimed at destabilising, undermining or threatening Moldova’s sovereignty and independence, and democracy, the rule of law and stability in the country; whereas these sanctions target close associates of Ilan Shor and the banned ȘOR party, people who are actively involved in vote-buying schemes and bribery to corrupt politicians;

E. whereas it is important to publicly demonstrate unwavering solidarity with the people of Moldova who have been seriously affected by the impact on neighbouring countries of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine as well as by continued, targeted Russian hybrid threats aiming to politically destabilise the country, undermine economic prosperity and weaken social cohesion;

1. Expresses its full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova and for its efforts to defend the integrity of its democratic process, the sovereignty of its foreign policy decisions and the socio-economic prospects of its people;

2. Emphasises its concern at repeated attempts by the Russian Federation, pro-Russian oligarchs and Russian-sponsored local proxies to destabilise Moldova, sow divisions within Moldovan society and derail the country’s progress towards EU accession through hybrid attacks, the manipulation of energy supplies to achieve political outcomes, and campaigns of disinformation, manipulation and intimidation targeting civil society organisations and independent media;

3. Notes that Russian hybrid threats and attempts at interference have been increasing ahead of the parliamentary elections on 28 September 2025 and clearly aim to destabilise the country and reverse its democratic course and sovereign decisions, in particular in relation to future EU membership;

4. Commends Moldova’s exemplary commitment and steady progress on EU accession-related reforms – despite significant internal and external challenges, including Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine and targeted Russian hybrid threats against Moldova – which have made it possible for accession negotiations to start in June 2024, only six months after the relevant decision by the European Council on 14 December 2023 and less than two years after Moldova’s application for EU membership on 3 March 2022;

5. Expresses its firm belief that Moldova’s capacity to consolidate its current progress on EU accession-related reforms and sustain its ambitious pace towards EU membership will require the strong and genuine support of a robust parliamentary majority;

6. Notes with satisfaction the EU’s efforts to provide political support to Moldova at the highest level, notably the first-ever EU–Moldova summit in Chișinău on 4 July 2025 and the visit of EU leaders from France, Germany and Poland to Moldova on 27 August 2025;

7. Reiterates its call for the EU to continue to complement its political support with increasing financial and technical support for the Moldovan Government’s efforts to counter foreign interference in the country’s democratic process, including through additional sanctions listings such as those of 15 July 2025, the granting of additional support to the EU Partnership Mission (EUPM) in Moldova, the sharing of expertise in foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), countering hybrid threats and strengthening resilience; renews its call for the Moldovan authorities and the EU to increase their support for independent media and pro-democracy civil society, to enable journalists at national and regional level to counter FIMI and strengthen digital literacy;

8. Encourages the Moldovan authorities to make full use of the EUPM’s expertise to counter any repeated electoral interference ahead of the parliamentary elections on 28 September 2025; encourages the European External Action Service and the Commission to use all available EU instruments to support Moldova in countering hybrid threats, including through the Hybrid Rapid Response Team and the Cyber Rapid Response Team; welcomes the efforts of Moldova’s Centre for Strategic Communications and Countering Disinformation to coordinate the fight against foreign interference among the various Moldovan institutions, and the efforts of the National Agency for Cyber Security and the National Institute for Cyber Security Innovations; reiterates the importance of improving information sharing and intelligence cooperation on security threats between Moldova and the EU and its Member States; calls for the EU to learn lessons from the experience gained in Moldova that can be applied to protect the EU’s own electoral processes and democratic institutions;

9. Urges Moldova’s authorities and civil society and the EU to enhance strategic communication, debunking and combating false narratives promoted by Russia about the EU and its policies and highlighting the concrete short- and long-term benefits of EU accession for people throughout Moldova, with a special focus on communication in regions such as Gagauzia and in socio-economically disadvantaged communities in rural areas; recommends, therefore, that full use be made of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Chișinău for disseminating information, countering disinformation and supporting citizen engagement, thereby contributing to strengthening Moldova’s democratic resilience;

10. Notes the important contributions of civil society organisations in countering disinformation and the malign influence of anti-reform political actors and Russian proxies as well as in defending human rights, promoting transparency and monitoring governance and progress on EU-related reforms;

11. Underlines that comprehensive reform of the justice system and the fight against corruption are crucial, both for Moldova’s resilience against foreign interference and hybrid threats and for the success of democratic and EU accession-related reforms; recognises Moldova’s sustained efforts to build an independent, impartial, accountable and professional judicial system and to complete the vetting process by the end of 2026; highlights the need to ensure enhanced coordination among all key anti-corruption and justice institutions in order to fully implement the comprehensive reforms, achieve convincing results in terms of prosecution and conviction in corruption cases and maintain public trust in democratic institutions and the reform process; calls, therefore, on the future government to maintain the current level of ambition and complete the rule of law reforms;

12. Underlines the crucial importance of energy independence and connectivity for increased resilience against Russian hybrid threats in the energy sector and calls, therefore, for the Growth Plan to be implemented more swiftly;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the President, Government and Parliament of Moldova.