Brussels vs Moscow: The EU risks losing its eastern neighbors

A vote that was supposed to be a slam dunk in favor of the EU turned into a nail-biter: barely 50 percent of Moldovans backed the country’s accession ambitions in last week’s referendum. Does a massive Russian interference campaign of vote-buying and lies explain the result — or is Brussels’ tepid support for Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression also to blame? Ahead of a vote with similar stakes in the Republic of Georgia, EU Confidential host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO reporters who’ve lived and traveled extensively in the region: Eva Hartog, Gabriel Gavin and, dialing in from Kyiv, Veronika Melkozerova. 

Next, we listen in on a POLITICO Pro Connect session (usually off the record and invitation- only) with our top policy editors unpacking the Commission’s new “Jenga tower” structure. Policy Editor Joanna Roberts discusses which commissioners have actual power — and which just have fancy titles — with Aoife White, Cory Bennett, Jan Cienski and Douglas Busvine. 

The event was part of POLITICO Pro Connect “In Conversation With” series, which you can learn more about here.

Further reading:

Moldova and Georgia ring alarm bells for the EU, by Gabriel Gavin and Eva Hartog

Pro-EU campaign won in Moldova despite ‘unfair fight,’ president says, by Gabriel Gavin

The man who bought a country, by Dato Parulava and Eva Hartog

Ashes of Our Fathers. Inside the Fall of Nagorno-Karabakh, Gabriel Gavin’s book, will be released in January 2025.

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