As reported by Open4Business, Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban stated that the possible unification of Romania and the Republic of Moldova depends on the will of the citizens of both countries, however, the current priority of Bucharest remains strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and supporting Moldova's accession to the European Union. The head of the Romanian government said this on 27 October 2026 in an interview with TVR Moldova during an official visit to Chisinau.
"This will happen when the citizens of both countries want it," Orban said in response to a question about the prospects of unification.
According to him, Romania and Moldova have close historical, cultural, and economic ties, so the issue of possible unification remains a subject of public discussion.
At the same time, the prime minister emphasized that the current Romanian government is focused on further rapprochement of the two states and accelerating Moldova's European integration.
Orban made his first foreign visit after taking office as Romanian Prime Minister to Chisinau, where he held talks with Moldovan counterpart Ion Chicu and President Maia Sandu.
During the talks, the parties paid special attention to expanding trade and economic cooperation, developing energy infrastructure, transport links, and attracting Romanian investments.
According to Orban, the trade turnover between Romania and Moldova in 2025 reached approximately 4.5 billion euros. Romanian investments have ensured the creation of about 12 thousand jobs in Moldova.
One of the priorities of bilateral cooperation remains the development of transport corridors across the Prut River. The parties discussed accelerating the construction of a bridge in the Ungheni area, modernizing border infrastructure, and organizing joint control at the Cantemir — Felciu crossing.
In the energy sector, the expansion of electrical connections between the two countries was discussed, in particular the construction of the Belti — Suceava line.
In addition, Moldova is interested in purchasing natural gas, which will be extracted on the Romanian shelf of the Black Sea as part of the Neptun Deep project after its commissioning.
During the visit, the prime ministers also familiarized themselves with the progress of the modernization project of the Chisinau substation, which is part of the new Vulcanesti — Chisinau power transmission line with a length of 157 km.
The new energy infrastructure is designed to strengthen Moldova's independence from electricity supplies through the Transnistrian region and expand the possibilities of imports from the European market.
The parties also paid special attention to the participation of Romanian business in the Moldovan economy. Among the promising areas, industry, energy, technologies, and transport infrastructure were named.
Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Chicu also proposed considering the country as a platform for the participation of Romanian companies in Ukraine's restoration projects.
The issue of regional security became another important topic of negotiations against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine.
Chicu stated that the security of Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania is closely interrelated, and Russian air attacks and violations of airspace create threats to the entire region.
According to the Moldovan prime minister, since the beginning of the full-scale war, more than 100 unsanctioned overflights have been recorded in the country's airspace.
Orban confirmed Bucharest's intention to continue supporting Moldova's European integration, in particular by facilitating the opening of the remaining negotiating clusters by the end of 2026.
Thus, the Romanian government considers economic integration, the development of joint infrastructure, and Moldova's accession to the EU as the primary areas of cooperation. The possible political unification of the two states remains a separate issue, the resolution of which, according to Orban's position, should be based on the will of their citizens.
Romania and the Republic of Moldova share a border of about 680 km, have close linguistic and cultural ties. Most of the territory of present-day Moldova was part of Romania in 1918–1940. After the collapse of the USSR, the Republic of Moldova declared independence on 27 August 1991. Romania has been a member of the European Union since 2007, while Moldova obtained candidate status for EU accession in June 2022, and official negotiations on accession began in June 2024.
