Republic of Moldova: between the Eropean Union and Commonwealth of Independent States

Moldova is the second smallest and the most densely populated of the NIS. It began the arduous task of building a democratic nation and market-based economy as it faced ethnic conflicts and the social hardships accompanying economic and political transformation. The country has pushed ahead with economic policy reform as a model of change among NIS countries. Moldova is also considered one of the top NIS performers in democratic development. Internal political tensions over the pace of reforms have delayed progress in land privatization and fiscal improvement. Underlying all of these issues is the festering problem of Transdniester where ethnic Russians, bolstered by the presence of Russian troops, thus denying Moldova control over significant industrial assets.