A pro-European rally was held Sunday, May 21, in Chisinau, capital of Moldova. The small country, with a portion occupied by Russia, seeks to accelerate its EU candidacy since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, motivated by fear of Moscow.
Tens of thousands of Moldovans rallied on Sunday to demand European Union membership for their country, whose bid to join the bloc has been accelerated by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
The former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people applied last year to join the EU and in June 2022 became a candidate country, alongside Ukraine.
More than 75,000 people participated in the demonstration in the centre of the capital, Chisinau, according to initial police estimates.
They waved EU flags and chanted pro-European slogans.
In February, the president of Moldova accused Russia of fomenting a coup to seize power in her tiny country.
It already has a breakaway region, Transnistria, where Russia has stationed a small number of troops.
Ahead of the rally, the government ran information campaigns inviting people to attend, and put on more public transport on Sunday to make it easier for them.
On June 1, Moldova will hold its first major summit of wider Europe, bringing together leaders of all 27 EU countries with 20 of the bloc’s neighbours.
EU membership, however, could take a decade or more to attain, given the long list of requirements candidate countries must meet to be able to sit alongside the other nations in the European single market.
Malo Pinatel, with AFP
