Moldova is the poorest country in Europe. It’s crammed between two far larger nations, Romania to its west and Ukraine on its eastern border. As a result, it is often compared to ‘a hamburger’.
This ex-Soviet republic in southeastern Europe is hardly known by non-Eastern Europe watchers, and yet when there is any news about it in the Western media, it is almost always negative, covering issues such as human trafficking, theft and poverty, which affects more than 3 million Moldovan citizens.
In the 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West has invested more than €2 billion into this country, which is second only to Tajikistan in terms of poverty amongst the 15 former Soviet republics.
The United States and European Union have been the most important donors, with both willing to help Moldova make the transition from Communism to a free market. In 2014, the European Union signed the Association Agreement with Moldova, fueling the hopes of Moldovans that one day they will also become members of the European Union. Although there is no clear prospect of EU membership for Moldova, about 900,000 Moldovans have already become citizens of the EU after obtaining passports as nationals of Romania and Bulgaria, both of which are members of the European Union.
Despite being the poorest country in Europe, with 25% of its territory under the control of pro-Soviet separatists in the Transnistria region, and with a geographical location without any significant geopolitical role, this country has recently become a new area of interest for the West. We came into possession of several secret documents from the special services of an EU member, showing that the West is investing about €56 million to make sure the main pro-Euro-Atlantic party in Moldova – the Action and Solidarity Party (”Partidul Acțiune și Solidaritate” – PAS), one of the members of which is the new president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, wins in the early parliamentary elections to be held on July 11.
It took us several weeks to verify the documents. We also received confirmation from an independent source in the secret services of our country, but also from some local politicians, who spoke about the reasons for this massive, sometimes very open support. Moldova’s role has grown recently after the outbreak of war in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The West wants to permanently remove this country from Russia’s sphere of influence.
According to the secret documents we received, most of the money comes from two countries: Germany and the US. Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Italy are also actively involved in the funding. There are several instruments used for this purpose, including:
1. Funding provided through non-governmental foundations;
2. Funding provided within the same political family;
3. Funding through government projects, both formal and informal;
4. Private companies. Most of the money out of this amount of almost €56 million is used through “grey schemes”, in which “cash” plays a dominant role, a practice the West usually tries to fight against.

The main coordinator of the “support for Moldova’s Euro-Atlantic future” operation is Germany. Berlin is actively involved in supporting the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu and PAS both politically, financially and logistically, using several instruments. Sandu has recently paid a pompous visit to Berlin, where she was received by the German President Frank-Walter Steimmeier and other high officials. The video conference discussion Sandu had with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to Berlin was a bit strange.
Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union Party are among the strongest supporters of Maia Sandu and PAS. The strong voice of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union in the European People’s Party has provided massive political support from the largest political group in the European Parliament for Sandu’s party, which has been welcomed into this large family. According to our sources, the human, logistical and financial resources of the Christian Democratic Union helped the exemplary mobilization of Moldovan citizens living in Germany to participate in the last autumn’s presidential elections and to vote for Sandu.

Moldovans in the Western diaspora, estimated at nearly 800,000 people, are the golden resource the West will use in the coming early parliamentary elections to ensure the victory of Sandu’s party and the anchoring of Moldova in the Euro-Atlantic space.
According to the secret documents, the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which has an office in Moldova, plays an important role in supporting Sandu and PAS. This foundation actively cooperates with the secret services in Berlin and is the official bridge in the relations with the presidency of Moldova. An official collaboration agreement has been signed between the Moldovan Presidency and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, based on which the German state finances a group of people who work for Sandu. According to our information, about 15 people, nationals of Moldova, receive a monthly salary ranging between €2000 and €4500.
Another foundation indirectly funding PAS is the European Endowment for Democracy, which supports several projects in Moldova. Soros Foundation, USAID, IREX, IND, IRI, etc. also play important roles.

The plan to support PAS in the July 11 early parliamentary elections contains a number of actions to be implemented both within the territory of Moldova and in a number of Western countries, including the US and Canada. Hereinafter we will name just a few actions mentioned in the secret documents, as well as the fabulous budgets granted to this small country.