Moldova

In 2024, the Republic of Moldova continued its efforts towards integration with the European Union (EU). On 25 June, the EU opened accession negotiations with Moldova, beginning a new chapter in the country’s accession pathway. The political agenda revolved around the accession plan, but was also heavily influenced by the presidential election and the constitutional referendum on EU accession, both held on 20 October, which mobilised significant efforts from all political actors. The outcome of the referendum was a narrow vote (50.35 per cent) in favour of including EU integration as a strategic objective in the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. In the presidential election, incumbent Maia Sandu won a second presidential mandate following the second round of the elections held on 3 November. Both the presidential election and the referendum were heavily affected by foreign interference and active disinformation against EU integration. 

On 30 December 2023, the state of emergency adopted by the Parliament following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was lifted after nearly two years. This marked the end of restrictions to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression that had been adopted during the period.

Russian aggression continued to heavily impact Moldova. In 2024, Moldova hosted over 123,000 Ukrainian refugees, while specialised civil society organisations (CSOs) and state institutions continued to cooperate and provide the required support. Several Russian-launched drones crushed in the territory of the Republic of Moldova, posing a direct physical threat to the population. The country was confronted with continuous disinformation and manipulation, including via the promotion of pro-Russian content that was especially amplified during the EU accession referendum. State institutions also fought against a complex scheme of interference in internal political processes and procedures. This included illegal financing, electoral corruption, payed protests, and recruitment and training for subversive and illegal actions, all financed through illicit mechanisms including via the instrumental Russian-based non-profit organisation (NPO) ‘Eurasia’ that is closely linked to the runaway convicted bank fraudster Ilan Șor and his newly-sponsored political block ‘Victorie’. Illegal funding schemes targeted hundreds of thousands of people to influence the results of the electoral process.

Key developments and priorities in the civil society environment 

In 2024, the overall CSO Meter score regarding the CSO environment in Moldova remained unchanged from 2023 at 4.8. The average scores for legislation (5.1) and practice (4.4) also remained the same. Some positive developments have occurred, leading to score increases in three of the eleven monitored areas without affecting the overall score. However, although public institutions remain open to collaboration with CSOs, only slight progress is being made and therefore it has been slow to translate into tangible improvements for the CSO environment overall. In Area 5 (Right to Participation in Decision-Making), scores improved in legislation, practice, and overall versus 2023 (from 4.9 to 5.0), due to the enforcement of the Access to Information Law, amendments to transparency legislation, and the introduction of new participation formats , improved transparency and participation of civil society and the public in the decision-making process at the local level over recent years. In Area 10 (State-CSO Cooperation), the legislation score improved (from 4.5 to 4.6), largely due to the launching of the 2024–2027 CSO Development Programme. In Area 4 (Freedom of Peaceful Assembly), the legislation score improved (from 5.3 to 5.4) following the end of the state of emergency and restrictions imposed by the Commission for Exceptional Situations. However, the practice score decreased (from 5.1 to 5.0) due to repeated and unjustified interventions by law enforcement during the electoral period, targeting peaceful assemblies organised by the opposition political bloc. In Area 11 (Digital Rights), the practice score improved (from 4.0 to 4.1) due to Republic of Moldova signing the Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI and the establishment of the Sub-Council on AI and Data Governance (SCIA) and the publication of the White Paper on Data and AI Governance as a policy development guide, by the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalisation.  

The top three areas by score remained the same as in 2023: Freedom of Association (5.5), Freedom of Peaceful Assembly (5.3), and Access to Funding (5.3). The areas with the lowest overall scores are Right to Privacy (4.3), State-CSO Cooperation (4.3), and Digital Rights (4.3). 

Out of the 54 recommendations in the 2023 CSO Meter Report, three were fully implemented in 2024: the adoption of a police regulation on hate speech sanctions; the creation of a functional accreditation system for social service providers, including CSOs; and the withdrawal by Parliament of an initiative to include educational institutions among beneficiaries of the percentage designation mechanism. Additionally, ten recommendations were partially implemented or entered the implementation phase.