Moldova Hosts the EPC Summit #1

National leaders from 48 countries will soon arrive at Castel Mimi in Bulboaca

EPC Coverage from Moldova Matters: Today Moldova Matters is covering the European Political Community Summit held in Moldova at Castel Mimi winery. We’ll post updates in a sequence of quick-hit articles over the course of the day as well as shorter posts on Substack Notes.

National Leaders Converge in Bulboaca

At Castel Mimi winery in the small town of Bulboaca 48 European heads of state, government and EU institutions are preparing to meet for today’s EPC summit. Of the 50 invited leaders only Turkey’s President Erdogan is not attending after canceling at the last minute without a stated reason. Ukraine’s President Zelensky’s attendance is unknown as Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities have stated that security concerns prevent anything being announced in advance. The Ukrainian President made a trip to Odessa yesterday fueling speculation about his attendance based on the proximity of Odessa to Chisinau and it’s being the most logical land route to come to Bulboaca.

Security is Tight for the Summit

Bulboaca is situated around 45 minutes drive southeast of Chisinau by car. Only official delegations will be allowed to make that drive today as all the roads around the town and key routes in Chisinau have been closed to normal traffic and are heavily patrolled by police. International press has noted that the summit is on the “doorstep of Ukraine” due to the close proximity of Bulboaca to the Ukrainian border. Security concerns though more likely stem from what is between Bulboaca and Ukraine which is Transnistria. If a car driving from Chisinau passed Castel Mimi and continued for another 20 minutes they would not pass any towns or villages until running into a Russian army checkpoint 10 km from where EU and regional leaders will be meeting today.

In addition to Moldovan police and military, we previously wrote about NATO air defense assets that will be covering the summit and training their Moldovan counterparts. Additionally it has been announced that a NATO / US Air Force AWACS plane will be providing security for the summit from allied airspace. While security is tight Moldovan officials have downplayed any concerns noting the months of preparation and large level of EU support that went into planning and organizing the event.

Press Coverage of the Summit

Around 700 Moldovan and international journalists have been accredited to cover the summit and were brought to Bulboaca this morning by special trains that serve as the only route in and out of the town. As I write this journalists are settled into 2 large international press tents enjoying coffee and refreshments, conversing in over a dozen languages and waiting for the arrival of the first national leaders around 10:30 am.

Inside the press tent for the EPC

Moldova has put huge effort into making the summit an advertisement for the country as most leaders and almost all of the international journalists are in Moldova for the first time. The government and President Sandu want to portray a modern, European country ready to take a place on the world stage. This is evident not only in the huge amount of preparation to receive national leaders but also in the effort put forward to engage with the press. Last night the government organized a meet and greet where journalists could mix with ministers and other government representatives over a glass of wine and local Moldovan cuisine. One EU based journalist who spoke to me noted that the gift bag he got when he arrived included a nice bottle of wine, local honey and a guide to Moldovan wineries. He commented that firstly, it was the nicest gift bag he’s ever seen at a conference and secondly that he had no idea Moldova made wine.

A majority of the international press covering the summit will similarly be getting a first impression of Moldova and their coverage could be very influential in how the country is perceived going forward. Simply put this is Moldova’s first real presentation on the world stage.

What to Expect from the EPC

Beyond the optics of Moldova hosting such a large event it is hard to know what exactly to expect as an output of the meetings held today. The focus of discussions will likely center on regional security as well as energy and other critical concerns. But the format of the EPC is intentionally kept very flexible. Unlike the G7 or other summits there is no pre-negotiated joint statement or expected output. Describing the first EPC Summit in Prague last year some analysts called the format “speed dating for heads of state.” Essentially, after a plenary session where all 48 (or 49) leaders will speak together, leaders will break out into smaller issue based working groups and have the opportunity to meet in bilateral or informal small group settings.

Here are some things that we’ll be watching for over the course of the day:

• President Zelensky’s attendance - If the President of Ukraine attends the summit it will likely further focus attention on the war and security issues and Ukraine will be hoping for some concrete announcements of new support.

• Armenia and Azerbaijani - At the first EPC Conference the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijani took the opportunity to meet on the sidelines and open a dialog about finding a peaceful solution to the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War which remains unresolved and threatens to flame up at any time. These leaders are expected to meet again today and there are rumors that a concrete peace deal may be discussed.

• Moldova’s Success in Hosting - The primary output of this event for Moldova is the prestige of being the host. Each national leader will enter Castel Mimi along a red carpet and proceed to be welcomed by President Sandu. It is critical for Moldova to show that the country is capable of organizing and hosting such an event. We’ll be writing about how well Moldova does in capitalizing on this opportunity throughout the day.

• Concrete Outcomes for Moldova - While there were no pre-negotiated joint statements for the event, there were clearly pre-negotiated deals between EU and Moldova specifically. Last night held a dizzying lineup of press conferences. First, Ursula von der Leyen announced new macro financial assistance for Moldova as well as a plan to liberalize mobile roaming prices between Moldova and the EU in 2024. Then EU High Representative for Security and Foreign Policy delivered 7 million euros in donated equipment to the Moldovan Army. Additionally the new EU Civil Mission to Moldova officially opened their offices. These events set the stage for the EU providing concrete assistance to Moldova and we’ll be watching if more such assistance is announced today.

We’ll write updates throughout the day and on Substack Notes.