European integration weakens Moldova's energy security and deprives it of access to suppliers from the US and the CIS, according to a false narrative that was launched in Chisinau and taken up by Russian propaganda.
NEWS: European integration weakens Moldova's energy security and makes the country's energy system vulnerable, as Chisinau is giving up potential support from the CIS countries or the US, said Moldovan political analyst Corneliu Ciurea.
A major incident occurred on January 31 in Moldova's power grid, leaving 70% of the population without electricity. Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu warned on Wednesday that a similar situation could happen again.
"The blackout on January 31 forces us to seriously reflect on how our authorities ensure the country's energy security. The Vulcănești–Chișinău line, which our authorities treat almost as a lifesaving solution, despite delays in its commissioning, will not be able to solve all the problems of our energy vulnerability—it can be concluded that European integration is, rather, weakening and making our energy system more vulnerable," Ciurea said on the television program "Primul în Moldova" (First in Moldova).
He explained that, in its desire to establish close relations with Brussels, Chisinau is severing all other ties and depriving itself of the opportunity to diversify its energy supply sources from both the CIS countries and the United States.
"Hungary shows that it is possible to fight with dignity for energy security. And something tells me that Hungary will solve its energy security problem better than Moldova, given that Hungary has good political relations with the US and already has contracts to obtain gas from that country," the expert added.
NARRATIVES: 1. European integration weakens Moldova's energy security. 2. By moving closer to the EU, Moldova will no longer be able to procure energy resources from other markets.
PURPOSE: To present European integration as a process that would undermine Moldova's energy security and increase the vulnerability of its energy system; to instil the idea that rapprochement with the European Union would force Chisinau to sever ties with other external partners and give up on diversifying its sources of supply, limiting access to alternative energy resource markets; indirectly, to induce the perception that the Republic of Moldova can only ensure its energy security through imports from Russia.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The claim that closer ties with the EU/European integration would affect Moldova's energy independence is nonsense, given that developing energy infrastructure and diversifying supply sources only strengthens resilience and reduces dependence on a single supplier/country. For example, because Moldova already had the capacity to import gas through the Iași-Chișinău pipeline, built a few years earlier, Chișinău was able to resist Moscow's blackmail, which made gas deliveries conditional on the recognition of a controversial debt of over 700 million USD. Because it was already able to purchase electricity from the West in 2025, Chișinău was not forced to continue the old gas delivery schemes to Transnistria, which were not paid for by the separatist authorities in the region and accumulated as Moldova's debt.
In addition, as Veridica has previously reported, the most important energy projects aimed at reducing Moldova's energy dependence have been financed/co-financed by European structures. These include loans and grants worth tens of millions of euros from the EBRD and the EU for the interconnection of power lines , the Iași-Ungheni-Chișinău gas pipeline, and numerous other smaller projects aimed at reducing energy consumption, increasing energy efficiency, and boosting green energy production in the Republic of Moldova. In fact, the EU, which has been fighting in recent years to reduce energy consumption and dependence on Russia in this area, would have no interest in seeing the opposite happen in the Republic of Moldova.
The narrative that closer ties with the EU would deprive Moldova of its sources of supply from the CIS and the US does not hold water. Moldova is discussing the possibility of purchasing gas with CIS countries (Azerbaijan, for example ). The Republic of Moldova has also purchased gas from the US on a trial basis. On the contrary, closer ties with the EU and alignment with the EU standards could allow Moldova to participate jointly in procurement processes or use energy infrastructure at lower costs. Moreover, the EU supports and invests in reducing the dependence of member states and partners on traditional energy resources and on Russia.
Russia does indeed have the ability to supply gas more cheaply, and Hungary and other so-called "friendly" states are examples of this. However, Moscow has proven, at least in the case of the Republic of Moldova, to be a partner that uses energy resources for political blackmail and does not ensure predictability and trust, as it did, for example, in the fall of 2022.
LOCAL CONTEXT/ETHOS: The Republic of Moldova, a country without energy resources, was until 2022 almost entirely dependent on Russian gas and the electricity produced from it in Transnistria. Starting in 2010, with pro-European forces taking power, the Republic of Moldova began to build alternative energy supply routes—the Iași-Chișinău gas pipeline and high-voltage power lines with Romania. The projects have been slow to get off the ground, and the power line interconnections are still not complete.
In the fall of 2022, Gazprom began to reduce the volume of gas supplied to the Republic of Moldova, forcing it to purchase gas from other markets. and the quantity delivered by the Russian giant was directed entirely to the separatist region of Transnistria, including for the production of electricity, which Chișinău purchased at prices lower than those in the region. The lower prices were explained by the fact that the Transnistrian region did not pay for Russian gas, but instead accumulated a debt (which Chisinau does not recognize) that reached approximately 11 billion USD.
The situation changed in 2025, after Ukraine did not extend its transit agreement with the Russian giant on its territory. Chisinau proposed to Gazprom to continue deliveries to the region through the so-called Trans-Balkan corridor, but Moscow refused. Gazprom made this conditional on the repayment of a debt of over 700 million USD by the Republic of Moldova (the right bank of the Dniester), which Chisinau does not recognize. At the same time, obscure formulas for gas delivery were proposed.
Therefore, the Republic of Moldova currently purchases both gas and electricity from international markets (most of its electricity from Romania) at higher prices than before, which is causing discontent among the population, as well as accusations from pro-Russian politicians and Moscow that the pro-European authorities have given up cheap gas and electricity.
On January 31, nearly 70% of Moldova's territory was affected by a power outage lasting several hours caused by damage to the Ukrainian power grid from bombing. The situation has reignited discussions about Chisinau's efforts to distance itself from its energy dependence on Russia and the false narratives about giving up "cheap electricity," which Veridica wrote about here.
