Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu announced his surprise resignation on Wednesday, January 24, assuring that he wanted to “take a break” after months of intensive work that led to the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union (EU). “It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I have decided to submit my resignation,” he told a news conference in the capital Chisinau.
He vowed to continue supporting President Maia Sandu, who is seeking a second term at the end of the year, “regardless of the position” he held. The 42-year-old civil servant, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, has been actively representing his country's voice on the international stage since 2021.
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In June, Moldova became an EU candidate
“We have succeeded in putting Moldova on the path to EU accession and on the map of an enlarged Europe. Goals that seemed unattainable two or three years ago,” he remembers. The former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people, located between Romania and Ukraine, received EU candidate status on June 23, 2022, marking the beginning of a long and complex process toward membership.
A first symbolic step took place in December 2023, when the Twenty-Seven decided to begin actual negotiations. The president then welcomed “a new page in the history” of the small country between East and West.
Nicu Popescu, who received a standing ovation from his colleagues at the opening of his last Council of Ministers, also congratulated himself on “rescuing Moldova from its dark hours, when diplomacy was at the service of the oligarchs.” He will be replaced by Mihai Popsoi, 36, from the same pro-European Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), who is currently vice-president of the parliament, while leadership of European affairs will be given to Foreign Minister Cristina Gherasimov.
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