Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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138. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his response to the recent election in Moldova. [56954/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As I said following the parliamentary elections on 28 September, the people of Moldova have clearly chosen a European future.

I would like to once again congratulate the Moldovan authorities on their successful election process – and to draw attention in particular to their success in safeguarding the integrity of their electoral process in the face of massive hybrid activity by Russia. There are valuable lessons to be learned from how the Moldovan Government managed to withstand and ultimately repel Russia’s attempts to interfere with their democratic processes – lessons which could help Eastern Neighbourhood countries facing elections in similarly contested spaces.

We welcome OSCE/ODIHR’s preliminary conclusions that the elections were competitive and offered voters a clear choice. These conclusions recognise the professional and orderly manner in which the Moldovan elections were managed.

The election results themselves confirm Moldova’s strong commitment to a future in the European Union. As a consistently strong supporter of Moldova’s accession aspirations, Ireland stands with Moldova on its path to the European Union as we prepare for our 2026 EU Presidency. We recently opened our first resident embassy in Chisinau this summer, which we hope will facilitate deeper engagement on Moldova’s EU accession, as well as strengthen our bilateral relations.