As Moldova prepares for intensive negotiations as a part of its path towards EU membership, expected to be started by the end of 2023, a lack of qualified experts capable of leading the talks is causing Chisinau headaches, writes EURACTIV.

“Analysts warn that the country does not have the human capital needed to drive the negotiations process. According to studies, since the proclamation of independence in 1991, Moldova has lost one and a half million people out of the four-million-strong population it had at the time of separation from the Soviet Union.

Over 1.3 million Moldovans have gained Romanian citizenship, and more than 100 Moldovans work in the Brussels bubble, many of them in European institutions. Alexandrina Robu is a Moldovan employee established in Brussels for over five years. She completed her master’s degree and PhD at the College of Europe and now works as an assistant at the European Parliament. Alexandrina is nourishing the hope of becoming part of the Moldovan EU accession negotiations team.

“Compared to other candidate countries, Moldova already has well-trained human resources who operate in Brussels and know the internal processes. So there is no need to lose extra time for the training experts in European affairs”, Alexandrina said.

Marian Cepoi did his studies at the College of Europe and, since 2017, has been working in the European Commission. He says highly-qualified resources in Chisinau are limited, especially in EU affairs. Conversely, he noted that in Brussels, there is a big community of Moldovans who work in European institutions, which is surprising for a state which is not a member of the EU.

Social democrat MEP Corina Crețu told EURACTIV that Moldova already needs to create its “organisation of experts”, warning that this should remain permanent and not change “depending on politics”. The Romanian EU lawmaker said this team should be able to implement pre-accession funds when the negotiation process begins. On a political level, Crețu reiterated her request for an “accelerated procedure for Moldova, which is very fragile and need EU’s help”.

“It cannot remain like a leaf in the wind”, - she said, adding that Moldovans should be granted a “perspective”. “They still have low standards of living; poverty is very high. Now is summer, bu