The EU wanted to set the record straight Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Europe is a “decaying” group of countries ruled by “weak” leaders. Trump slammed Europe as poorly governed and failing to regulate migration in an interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns that aired Tuesday in a special episode of The Conversation podcast.  “I think they’re weak,” the Republican said, referring to the continent’s presidents and prime ministers, adding, “I think they don’t know what to do. Europe doesn’t know what to do.”  Asked by POLITICO to respond to Trump’s withering assessment, the European Commission’s Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho mounted a spirited defense of Europe’s leaders.   “We are very pleased and grateful to have excellent leaders, starting with the leader in this house, president of the European Commission von der Leyen, who we are really proud of, who can lead us in the many challenges that the world is facing,” Pinho said.   Pinho also lauded the “many other leaders at the head of the 27 member states that are part of this European project, of this peace project, who are leading the EU with all the challenges that it is facing, from trade to war in our neighborhood.”  She added, “So let me use the opportunity to reiterate what is the sense of many of the millions of citizens in the EU: We are proud of our leaders.”  Europe has repeatedly come under attack from the Trump administration in recent days, with a U.S. national security manifesto suggesting the continent is in civilizational decline, and top officials lambasting the bloc for censorship after the Commission fined Elon Musk’s social media platform X €120 million for breaching transparency rules. 

Today, as the world reaches a critical juncture in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, the EU must choose: match scientific breakthroughs with political will and investment or retreat, putting two decades of hard-won progress at risk. Having saved over 70 million lives, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (the Global Fund) has proven what smart, sustained investment can achieve.  But the impact of its work — the lives protected, the life expectancy prolonged, the systems strengthened, the innovations deployed — is now under threat due to declining international funding.  > The real question is no longer whether the EU can afford to invest in the > Global Fund, but whether it can afford to let these hard-won gains unravel. The real question is no longer whether the EU can afford to invest in the Global Fund, but whether it can afford to let these hard-won gains unravel. Declining international funding, climate change, conflict and drug resistance are reversing decades of progress. HIV prevention is hampered by rising criminalization and attacks on key populations, with 1.3 million new infections in 2024 — far above targets. TB remains the deadliest infectious disease, worsened by spreading multidrug resistance, even in Europe. Malaria faces growing resistance to insecticides and drugs, as well as the impacts of extreme weather. Without urgent action and sustained investment, these threats could result in a dangerous resurgence of all three diseases. The stakes could not be higher  The Global Fund’s latest results reveal extraordinary progress. In 2024 alone: * 25.6 million people received lifesaving antiretroviral therapy, yet 630,000 still died of AIDS-related causes; * 7.4 million people were treated for TB, with innovations like AI-powered diagnostics reaching frontline workers in Ukraine; and * malaria deaths, primarily among African children under five, have been halved over two decades, with 2.2 billion mosquito nets distributed and ten countries eliminating malaria since 2020. Yet one child still dies every minute from this treatable disease.  What makes this moment unprecedented is not just the scale of the challenge, but the scale of the opportunity. Thanks to extraordinary scientific breakthroughs, we now have the tools to turn the tide:  * lenacapavir, a long-acting antiretroviral, offers new hope for the possibility of HIV-free generations; * dual active ingredient mosquito nets combine physical protection with intelligent vector control, transforming malaria prevention; and  * AI-driven TB screening and diagnostics are revolutionizing early detection and treatment, even in the most fragile settings. Some of these breakthroughs reflect Europe’s continued research and development and the private sector’s leadership in global health. BASF’s dual-active-ingredient mosquito nets, recently distributed by the millions in Nigeria, are redefining malaria prevention by combining physical protection with intelligent vector control. Delft Imaging’s ultra-portable digital X-ray devices are enabling TB screening in remote and fragile settings, while Siemens Healthineers is helping deploy cutting-edge AI software to support TB triage and diagnosis.  But they must be deployed widely and equitably to reach those who need them most. That is precisely what the Global Fund enables: equitable access to cutting-edge solutions, delivered through community-led systems that reach those most often left behind. A defining moment for EU Leadership The EU has a unique chance to turn this crisis into an opportunity. The upcoming G20 summit and the Global Fund’s replenishment are pivotal moments.  President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner Síkela can send a clear, unequivocal signal: Europe will not stop at “almost”. It will lead until the world is free of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.  The Global Fund is a unique partnership that combines financial resources with technical expertise, community engagement and inclusive governance. It reaches those often left behind — those criminalized, marginalized or excluded from health systems.  > Even in Ukraine, amid the devastation of war, the Global Fund partnership has > ensured continuity of HIV and TB services — proof that smart investments > deliver impact, even in crisis. Its model of country ownership and transparency aligns with Africa’s agenda for health sovereignty and with the EU’s commitment to equity and human rights. Even in Ukraine, amid the devastation of war, the Global Fund partnership has ensured continuity of HIV and TB services — proof that smart investments deliver impact, even in crisis. The cost of inaction Some may point to constraints in the Multiannual Financial Framework. But history shows that the EU has consistently stepped up, even in difficult fiscal times. The instruments exist. What’s needed now is leadership to use them. Failure to act would unravel decades of progress. Resurgent epidemics would claim lives, destabilize economies and undermine global health security. The cost of inaction far exceeds the price of investment. For the EU, the risks are strategic as well as moral. Stepping back now would erode the EU’s credibility as champion of human rights and global responsibility. It would send the wrong message, at precisely the wrong time.  Ukraine demonstrates what is at stake: with Global Fund support, millions continue to receive HIV and TB services despite war. Cutting funding now would risk lives not only in Africa and Asia, but also in Europe’s own neighborhood. A call to action Ultimately, this isn’t a question of affordability, but one of foresight. Can the EU afford for the Global Fund not to be fully financed? The answer, for us, is a resounding no. We therefore urge the European Commission to announce a bold, multi-year financial commitment to the Global Fund at the G20.  This pledge would reaffirm the EU’s values and inspire other Team Europe partners to follow suit. It would also support ongoing reforms to further enhance the Global Fund’s efficiency, transparency and inclusivity. > Ultimately, this isn’t a question of affordability, but one of foresight. Can > the EU afford for the Global Fund not to be fully financed? The answer, for > us, is a resounding no. This is more than a funding decision. It is a moment to define the kind of world we choose to build: one where preventable diseases no longer claim lives, where health equity is a reality and where solidarity triumphs over short-termism. Now is the time to reaffirm Europe’s leadership. To prove that when it comes to global health, we will never stop until the fight is won.

Alexandru Munteanu was sworn in as Moldova’s prime minister on Saturday during a ceremony attended by President Maia Sandu and the speaker of parliament, Igor Grosu. Munteanu, a 61-year-old economist who has worked at the World Bank and Moldova’s National Bank, is taking political office for the first time to help lead his country’s push for EU membership. Moldova’s parliament appointed Munteanu as prime minister on Friday, after September’s elections gave Sandu’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) a decisive victory over its pro-Russian rivals. “We have a unique opportunity to become the government that will bring Moldova into the European Union,” Munteanu said on Friday before the vote of confidence. The newly elected prime minister won the backing of 55 of the 101 MPs. Sandu’s PAS cruised to victory in September, securing more than 50 percent of the votes over the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP), which won 24.2 percent of the vote. The election was marred by what officials described as an “unprecedented” Russian hybrid interference campaign aimed at undermining Moldova’s pro-European drive through disinformation, vote-buying, and attempts to incite unrest, according to national security officials. “After years of having to manage multiple crises and challenges, starting today, we need a government that focuses more on development and completes Moldova’s transformation into a modern European state,” said Sandu in a statement after Munteanu’s swearing-in. “Before you stands a country that needs trust and results. I wish you strength, wisdom in your decisions, and unity in your actions. May it be an auspicious beginning, and may you have success in all you do for the good of the Republic of Moldova and its people,” said Sandu, addressing the new government’s Cabinet.

VELDHOVEN, Netherlands — Dutch politicians are in a bidding war to convince voters ahead of a general election that they can solve a national shortage of 400,000 homes. Most of them focus on one thing: build more. While Dutch political parties agree on the need for more housing, there’s disagreement on how to do it. The polling leader, far-right anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders, wants to raze the national public media campus and redevelop it into a residential neighborhood. GreenLeft-Labor wants to turn two airports into housing. And, in a country where more than a quarter of the land is below sea level, the progressive D66 party even wants to reclaim more land near Almere, a new town built in the 1970s. For Caroline van Brakel, a Christian Democrat in the town of Veldhoven where the housing crunch is especially acute, there’s no need to close airports or create new islands to solve the Netherlands’ space issue. “We’re building 400 new houses per year, while it used to be below 200,” Van Brakel told POLITICO this month while standing on a building site opposite the headquarters of ASML, Europe’s most-valuable tech company and the world-leading maker of chip manufacturing machines. More housing can fit inside towns and cities, she thinks. Van Brakel is the housing councilor for Veldhoven, a town separated from Eindhoven by only a highway — and has an ambitious plan to transform their four joined villages into a proper city. A lot will need to squeeze in between the empty building site and the gleaming white towers of ASML. “The river is coming back in a green belt, there will be a rapid transit line to Eindhoven and 2,800 housing units,” she said. GETTING CROWDED Veldhoven lies in one of the country’s fastest-growing corners. With ASML as the main driver, Eindhoven’s “Brainport” region also includes other high-tech players, an automotive campus and one of the Netherlands’ three technical universities. The polling leader, far-right anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders, wants to raze the national public media campus and redevelop it into a residential neighborhood. | John Beckmann/Getty Images Almost every region of the Netherlands faces a severe housing crisis. Farmers across the kingdom — the second-largest agricultural exporter globally — might need to be bought out because there is too much nitrogen in the air. Nitrogen pollution from animal farming is another issue that where consecutive governments have failed to make the necessary changes. The electricity network is congested, the armed forces need more space and distribution centers have “boxed up” the flat landscape for years. The Netherlands is already the most densely populated country in Europe (besides tiny states like Malta). Its population of 18 million is forecast to reach 19 million by 2037. And across Europe, twin crises of housing availability and affordability make up significant pressure points on politicians, both at national and EU levels. Property prices in the Netherlands have almost quadrupled over the last 30 years, while wages have only doubled. In recent research by pollster Gallup, satisfaction with the availability of affordable housing plummeted from 65 percent to 29 percent between 2017 and now. Of people aged 15 to 29, only 14 percent were satisfied. Home-hunters making just above minimum wage can no longer afford buy their own four walls — but also earn too much to qualify for social housing, which long made up the lion’s share of all dwellings in the country. Reflecting a Europe-wide trend, the share of one-person households is rising. More seniors are being pushed to stay at home for as long as possible due to the cost of residential care, keeping high-quality houses occupied for longer. Finally, lax rules that allow investors to speculate on real estate add to the problem. Because the issues are so tangled up, easy solutions won’t cut it. However, “No single party is genuinely considered as owning the issue” of housing, said Asher van der Schelde, senior researcher at polling company Ipsos I&O. That’s not for lack of trying. “They all make roughly the same point, namely: We need to build many more homes,” he said. Wilders’ one-man Freedom Party is expected to top next week’s polls. The Christian Democrats (CDA), GreenLeft-Labor and liberals of D66 are all vying for second place. After Wilders blew up the last government, however, all the mainstream parties vowed to steer clear of him — complicating the task of forming a new government. THE NETHERLANDS NATIONAL PARLIAMENT ELECTION POLL OF POLLS All 3 Years 2 Years 1 Year 6 Months Smooth Kalman For more polling data from across Europe visit POLITICO Poll of Polls. EXPANDING INWARDS One of the buyers of an apartment opposite ASML, a 24-year-old project manager at the company called Bart, said he preferred a two-year wait for a new apartment over buying an overpriced house in need of renovation. “Rents are very high here, and existing housing seems totally full. But most people need to find something right now, so they cannot wait for new projects,” said Bart, who declined to give his last name. Veldhoven lacks a train station, meaning there’s lots of traffic around ASML amid an unusually car-friendly townscape. Van Brakel explained the municipality will receive funding from The Hague for its express bus connection to Eindhoven. But to make that line feasible, the narrow band between ASML and the old town square of Veldhoven, small- and medium-sized enterprises will need to make way for a whole new neighborhood. This reflects the long-standing Dutch tradition of “inbreiden,” or “in-panding” (as opposed to expanding) within town limits instead of pushing into precious green areas. “The countryside mosaic needs to be protected,” Van Brakel added. “A few big cities — but otherwise, smaller towns and green between the villages.” PATIENCE REQUIRED Veldhoven’s new apartment buildings have a long process behind them, with construction only starting now — seven years after the first permit requests. Including this October’s, three national elections have taken place in that period. The housing shortage has only increased since, with prices rising at record speed in 2021. “Politics can barely keep up with technology and the economy these days,” said Leiden University philosophy lecturer Bart Zantvoort. If elections keep occurring every two years, there is less time to change policy — and less incentive for politicians to sketch long-term horizons. “Citizens are often unwilling to accept the slowness inherent in democratic politics, creating more dissatisfaction,” he said, acknowledging that this might explain why most of Wilders’ voters continue to support him even after he blew up the coalition government last summer. Other parties don’t seem to have a clear counternarrative, instead adopting Wilders-style tactics like scrapping airports or farmland in favor of housing. “All pigs in this country have a roof above their head — but a student or first-time buyer cannot even find an affordable broom cupboard,” D66 leader Rob Jetten said in a recent debate. “Nowadays, it becomes almost impossible to construct a political movement based on broad consensus,” said Zantvoort. He linked the testy political climate to increasing social polarization that is undermining the give-and-take that once characterized consensus politics in the Netherlands — and in pluralist parliamentary democracies across Europe. Back in Veldhoven, Bart says he bought his future apartment under an arrangement called duokoop, which involves also paying a small monthly rent for the land the building stands on. “That scares away the speculative investors,” he explained, adding that it also means the units are not all gone in a few days’ time. Hanne Cokelaere, Pieter Haeck and Eva Hartog contributed to this report.

The European Parliament on Wednesday awarded the Sakharov Prize to jailed journalists Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaglobeli. “Both are journalists currently in prison on trumped-up charges simply for doing their work and for speaking out against injustice,” Parliament President Roberta Metsola said as she announced the winners of the top EU human rights award. “Their courage has made them symbols of the struggle for freedom and democracy.” Poczobut, a journalist and activist from the Polish minority in Belarus, is an outspoken critic of President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. He has been arrested multiple times and, in 2021, was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony. His health has since deteriorated, the Parliament said. Amaglobeli, a Georgian journalist and director of two media outlets, was arrested in January during anti-government protests. She was sentenced to two years in prison and is the first female political prisoner in Georgia. Metsola also honored the other finalists, namely journalists and aid workers in Palestine, and student activists in Serbia. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is named in honor of Andrei Sakharov, the Soviet physicist and political dissident. Shortlisted candidates are traditionally invited to the Parliament’s award ceremony, which takes place during the December plenary session in Strasbourg.

Ukraine sees its EU membership bid advancing before the end of this year thanks to “creative solutions” to overcome Hungary’s opposition, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka told POLITICO. EU leaders could sign off on opening as many as six negotiating “clusters” — legal steps on the path to membership in the bloc — in December as “political momentum” builds and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces growing pressure to remove his veto, he said. “You can complete preparation of reopening of all clusters and if there will be a political momentum, then all clusters can go already by the end of this year,” Kachka said in an interview. He added: “The position of Hungary is getting more and more unjustified.” The Hungarian leader has placed opposition to Ukraine’s EU membership at the center of his bid for reelection next year, arguing that such a large new member would destabilize the bloc. But Kachka argued during a stopover in Brussels that Hungary’s “painful” opposition to Ukrainian membership was not insurmountable and that a solution would be found most likely during a December gathering of European leaders. “I believe that member states will find a solution in December,” he said after sharing notes on Ukraine’s internal reforms with EU national representatives. Kachka added that an in-person meeting between Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was possible to unstick the membership problem, though he could not say “when and where it will take place.” ‘WAITING IS NOT AN OPTION’ Ukraine got the political green light to start accession talks in 2023 and has been negotiating for months to enter the bloc. But without a legal sign-off from all 27 EU countries, Kyiv will not have formally begun its accession process — a point of growing frustration for millions of Ukrainians. “What is difficult to explain in [Ukrainian] society is that we need to wait. … Waiting is not an option,” Kachka said regarding Kyiv’s membership bid. “We need to have a solution here and now. This is important for Ukraine but also for the European Union.” A formal green light to join the EU would mark a major victor for Zelenskyy, who recently emerged empty-handed from a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Trump has rebuffed Kyiv’s efforts to join NATO, while Hungary is the main obstacle to its membership in the EU. Kachka hailed an initiative by European Council President Antonio Costa to facilitate the process of applying to join the EU, saying the Portuguese politician had “advocated heavily” in favor of removing hurdles. “Antonio Costa is really strong in this case. And I will be glad to see if his initiative will be successful,” Kachka said. Costa’s initiative was shot down at an informal gathering of leaders in Copenhagen, but pro-enlargement countries have since come up with a new proposal to overcome opposition not just from Hungary, but also from other skeptical states such as Bulgaria and Greece. Under this new proposal, first reported by POLITICO and currently being studied in Brussels, new entrants to the EU would not have a right to veto bloc-wide policy decisions. This would amount to second-tier membership in the bloc, but could overcome deep-seated fears of the EU’s agenda being taken hostage by new members potentially including Ukraine, Moldova and Western Balkan countries such as Montenegro. Kachka didn’t comment specifically on the new proposal but praised what he called “creative solutions” to address opposition from Hungary and other EU governments. Poland is one country where fear of being flooded with cheap Ukrainian agricultural produce has led to concerns about Kyiv’s membership, but Warsaw isn’t alone. As recently as July, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested he didn’t expect Ukraine to join the EU before 2034 at the earliest. “I know Poland quite well,” Kachka said. “That’s why I understand that … farmers are an essential element of [Poland’s] social fabric. I think that the solutions are there so that you can fine-tune the Common Agricultural Policy in a way that allows for greater efficiencies in the EU-wide food system,” he said. Despite pressure from eager candidate countries and top EU officials, European leaders seem to be in no rush to unblock the process. A draft version of the latest Council conclusions obtained by POLITICO contained no mention of enlargement.

Tufan Erhürman was elected on Sunday as the Turkish Cypriot leader, reviving hopes that talks on the reunification of the divided island could resume. The 55-year-old lawyer achieved an unprecedented landslide victory, unseating hard-liner incumbent Ersin Tatar, who was considered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s favorite. Turkey’s 1974 invasion, which came in response to a Greece-backed coup in Cyprus, split the island along ethnic lines, creating a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south. Ankara does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member country that is otherwise recognized internationally as the sole sovereign authority over the whole island. Several attempts to find a compromise settlement over the years have failed, the last one in 2017, and formal talks have not resumed since. According to official results, Erhürman secured 62.8 percent of the vote in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is only recognized by Turkey, while incumbent Tatar won 35.8 percent. Erhürman is a proponent of reunification talks under the auspices of the United Nations. He has served in the Turkish Cypriot legislature since 2013, is the leader of center-left CTP party, a position from which he will have to resign in the coming days. Tatar mirrored Turkey’s views and was in favor of a two-state solution. During his five-year tenure, the Turkish north has toughened its stance, even as the U.N. continues to push for what is known as “a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.” During the campaign, Erhürman promised that his first visit would be to Ankara to meet Erdoğan. In his first comments after his victory, the new Turkish Cypriot leader said that his leadership “will be exercised in an impartial, fair and inclusive manner.” He promised, though, to be in close consultation with Turkey on “foreign policy,” saying that “no one should have the slightest concern about this issue. We will address all ‘foreign policy’ issues in consultation with Turkey,” he said. Erdoğan congratulated Erhürman on his victory and said “Turkey will continue to defend the sovereign rights and interests of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on every platform, together with our Turkish brothers.” “The only realistic solution to the Cyprus problem lies in the acceptance of the existence of two separate states on the island,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan repeated on social platform X on Saturday ahead of the vote. The president of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, congratulated Erhürman on his victory and reiterated his readiness for the resumption of the negotiations under the U.N. auspices. “The upcoming informal meeting announced by the U.N. secretary-general is a crucial opportunity to restart the process,” Christodoulides said. “The solution to the Cyprus problem must be based on United Nations resolutions, Security Council decisions, and the principles and values of the European Union, of which the Republic of Cyprus is and will continue to be a member state.”

Berlin is recalling for consultations its ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, after he became the target of attacks from the pro-Russia government of the South Caucasus country, the German foreign ministry announced on Sunday. “For many months, the Georgian leadership has been agitating against the EU, Germany and also German Ambassador Fischer personally,” the Federal Foreign Office wrote on X in a post announcing the decision to recall the ambassador “for consultations on how to proceed.” The situation in Georgia, which last December inaugurated its new President Mikheil Kavelashvili, a far-right firebrand and former footballer, amid claims his controversial election was a sham, is going to be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on Monday. Georgia halted the country’s EU accession process triggering protests in the streets and the withdrawal of the German ambassador comes after a prolonged escalation between Georgia’s Russian-oriented head of government Irakli Kobakhidze and Fischer. The Georgian foreign ministry last month summoned the German ambassador, suggesting in a statement that he was part of attempts to promote a “radical agenda within the country” and warned Fischer not to interfere in Georgia’s internal affairs. German weekly Der Spiegel reported Sunday that among other things, the diplomat brooked trouble by attending court hearings against members of the opposition. The newspaper also said Fischer had been criticized by Tbilisi after renting the house of an opposition politician. The German ambassador is not the only target of the pro-Moscow government. On Thursday, Georgia’s interior ministry fined Finland’s foreign minister after she expressed support for protesters at a pro-EU, anti-government rally in Tbilisi.  

BRUSSELS — Montenegro wants the EU’s help in fighting Russian disinformation as the Balkan nation moves toward membership of the bloc. The small country, which has set an ambitious goal to join the EU by 2028, is increasingly a target for disinformation from those hoping to disrupt its membership bid, Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović told POLITICO in an exclusive interview in Brussels. “I’m very much hoping that in the future we would be getting bigger support from the EU to really fight disinformation and misinformation,” Milatović said, adding he had pitched the idea to EU policymakers and member countries. Moldova, another EU candidate country, has been a favorite target of the Kremlin’s meddling, including vote-buying and disinformation. That led the EU to deploy last month its new cyber reserve — a team of private-sector cybersecurity experts — to Chişinǎu and allocate millions in funding for a hub to fight disinformation. Milatović, who was in Brussels to meet with European Council President António Costa, said “malign influence from third countries” could pose a risk to Montenegro’s accession, and urged the EU to be proactive in countering such threats. “Sometimes, I feel that pro-European politicians in the region of the Western Balkans are a bit left alone by the partners in the EU,” he said, adding that he encountered disinformation “on a daily basis.” ‘END OF THE RACE’ Montenegro applied to join the EU in 2008 and was granted candidate status in 2010. It has closed seven of 33 accession chapters since then and is on track to close five more by December, a senior Montenegrin diplomat confirmed to POLITICO. With a population of 600,000, the tiny Adriatic nation has sought to position itself as the obvious next member of the 27-nation bloc. But it faces potential obstacles, including pro-Serb parties in its parliament, tensions with neighboring Croatia and skepticism in some corners of the EU about enlargement. Tellingly, the issue is not even on the agenda of next week’s European Council summit. French President Emmanuel Macron called in 2023 for the EU to reform itself before letting in new members. But Milatović said that behind closed doors, Macron had come around to the idea of Montenegro’s membership. “I believe that two years ago, before President Macron started speaking with me, he had … one opinion,” Milatović said. “After so many discussions that I had with him,” however, Macron was now “optimistic … about Montenegro’s position in the EU.” “And I believe this is the case also with all the other EU leaders,” Milatović added. “Montenegro is now perceived as a front-runner. But … I do want to see the end of the race, in a sense.” Another potential sticking point is the country’s reliance on Russian tourists and investors. Montenegro has yet to introduce visas for Russians, who can enter the country visa-free for 30 days, and Russians remain the largest foreign investors. “What we are trying to do is sort of postpone it [visas] as much as we can, so that we still keep our tourism sector alive,” Milatović said, adding he was “absolutely” concerned by the influx of Russian cash. “We are a bit in a vacuum now because … we don’t have full access to EU funds.” That said, Montenegro will align its visa regime with the EU “very soon,” he said. Ultimately, while much of the onus is on Podgorica to unite its political forces and deliver promised reforms, the EU also needs to prove “enlargement is alive” and “reforms pay off,” Milatović warned. “The last country that entered was Croatia more than 10 years ago. And in the meantime, the United Kingdom left,” Milatović said. “So this is why I believe that now is the time to revive the process, to also revive a bit the idea of the EU as a club that still has a gravity toward it.”

European leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief Monday as Moldova remained on its pro-EU path in a high-stakes parliamenatry election marred by Russian influence operations. With more than 99.9 percent of the ballots counted, the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) secured victory with 50.2 percent, well ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP), which collected 24.2 percent of the vote. “Moldova, you’ve done it again. No attempt to sow fear or division could break your resolve,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a post on X. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas echoed her boss, saying that Moldova’s vote is a “clear yes to a European future.” “Despite Russia’s massive efforts to spread disinformation and buy votes, no force can stop a people committed to freedom,” Kallas said. Sunday’s parliamentary election was heavily targeted by the Kremlin, seeking — but ultimately failing — to nudge the post-Soviet country back into its sphere of influence, according to analysts and Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Further congratulations for the pro-EU movement poured in from Kyiv, Warsaw and Prague. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he called Sandu to congratulated her on her party’s victory. “These elections showed that Russia’s destabilizing activity loses, while Moldova in Europe wins. Russian subversion, constant disinformation — none of this worked. It is important that Moldova was effective in defending itself against threats together with all who helped,” he said. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk added that the election was “a good lesson for us all.” “It took real courage of the Moldovan nation and Maia Sandu personally to win this election. Not only did you save democracy and kept the European course, but you have also stopped Russia in its attempts to take control over the whole region. A good lesson for us all,” he said. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who faces being ousted from office by populist right-winger Andrej Babiš in an election this weekend, expressed hope for his own country. “Great news from Moldova! … Voters in Moldova gave a clear stop to the pro-Russian parties. This is hope also for Czechia; please come to the polls and don’t let the country fall to Russian collaborators,” Fiala wrote. The reaction from Moscow, however, was rather more sour. Russia wasted little time in denouncing Moldova’s election outcome, casting the victory for Sandu’s party as being illegitimate and orchestrated. Alexander Gusev, a Kremlin-aligned political scientist and professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences, accused Sandu of manipulating the process to cement her pro-European course. “The Moldovan authorities, and Sandu personally, are doing everything to ensure that these elections effectively confirm her legitimacy and the course toward European integration,” he told the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti. “For them there is no such thing as justice, they have a simple task and they carry it out like puppets of Europe.” Leonid Slutsky, chair of the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s lower house of parliament, dismissed Sandu’s victory as a “Pyrrhic” one. “As a result of these elections, Moldova will become even more divided,” he warned, adding that “Sandu’s regime is leading Moldova down the path of Ukraine.” Eva Hartog contributed to this report.