61% of the respondents in a poll conducted by Magenta Consulting support the country’s European Union membership, nearly twice as many as those (31%) opting against such a scenario.

Polling was carried out on March 3-5 — immediately after President Maia Sandu announced that her government had officially sealed a formal request for European Union membership. 

The figures indicate a significant improvement in support for EU membership from the 52% of Moldovans who said they wanted the country to join the bloc before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Also, in a similar poll conducted by IMAS in January-February, only 26% of those interviewed were against EU membership. The two polls carried out before and after the war started in Ukraine thus differ mainly in regard to the share of the undecided population, while the ratio between pro-EU and against-EU voters remained roughly the same at 2:1.

President Maia Sandu sealing the accession request was another possible driver for the decrease in the number of undecided voters.

She made the announcement three days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Ukraine's bid to join the European Union. On March 2, Georgia announced that it would also apply for EU membership.

“We are ready to do everything to achieve this fundamental national goal," said Sandu while signing the document, though she admitted that accession is “a long way ahead of us”. 

As regards the key issue seen as an obstacle for the country’s EU membership, Sandu said that she expects a peaceful settlement of the dispute with the separatist authorities in Transnistria during the accession process.