The European Union is sending its culture commissioner to Moldova to formally admit the EU candidate country to the bloc’s flagship cultural funding program.
In a diplomatic push designed to keep the country from falling under the Kremlin’s sway, Commissioner for Youth and Culture Glenn Micallef heads to Moldova this weekend and will meet with President Maia Sandu on Tuesday, a Commission official told POLITICO.
Once there he will sign a pact allowing Moldova to participate in Creative Europe, an initiative that provides billions in funding and support for the EU’s cultural sector, from theater and television to music and video games. The program is set to be expanded in the bloc’s next seven-year budget.
The commissioner’s visit comes days after the leaders of France, Germany and Poland converged on Moldova on Wednesday in a flashy show of support for the country’s bid for EU membership and ahead of a critical parliamentary election on Sept. 28.
With a population of about 2.4 million people sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova — which applied to join the EU in 2022 — has become a target for Russian hybrid warfare, including disinformation and election manipulation.
Last year’s referendum on EU membership passed by a wafer-thin margin of 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent in a vote marred by Russian interference and rigging. In a simultaneous nail-biter presidential election, Sandu defeated her pro-Russian opponent to secure a second term.
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