Moldova – the road towards EU membership
Moldova has started the journey to join the EU, and the National Board of Trade Sweden supports the country in this process, both on the ground in Chișinău and from Stockholm. The joint project also focuses on strengthening the country’s capacity to participate in international trade.
Since 2022, Moldova has been one of the EU candidate countries and is currently in an intensive phase of reform. The National Board of Trade Sweden’s work in the country aims to support Moldovan institutions in strengthening their capacity for implementing the EU regulatory framework in the field of trade in practice. It also involves helping companies to understand and meet the requirements that follow from EU membership.
Alignment of regulations and processes
More specifically, the National Board of Trade Sweden is running a joint project with the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization in Moldova. The project aims to strengthen the Moldovan institutions’ knowledge and skills in matters related to the EU Single Market matters, how to align national legislation and implement necessary reforms related to the EU integration. This process looks different for each country, but the National Board of Trade Sweden supports Moldova in finding a path that is both effective within the EU machinery and compatible with the Moldovan state administration.
Seconded expert in Chișinău
The project with the ministry has a particular focus on aligning legislation with the EU Services Directive and the team with international and Moldovan experts have just recently completed the screening of national legislation related to the implementation of the EU Services Directive.
“The screening of the EU Services Directive is an important milestone. It gives a clear picture of where national legislation already aligns with EU rules and where further reforms are needed,” says Anneli Wengelin, project manager at the National Board of Trade.
Since January 2026, an expert from the National Board of Trade Sweden has also been working on site in Chișinău. The purpose of the secondment is to provide operational support and to more easily contribute to strengthening the authorities’ capacity to plan, coordinate and implement EU-related trade reforms.
“The project has several different components. In addition to helping to amend Moldovan legislation and build capacity for implementation and necessary reforms, it also involves informing Moldovan companies of the possibilities an EU membership entails and how they can utilize the new possibilities that comes with EU membership. To a large extent, this is about providing information on what membership entails,” says Michael Koch, seconded expert from the National Board of Trade Sweden.
Support to Companies
An important part of the work is to support companies in exporting to Sweden and the EU. This is carried out through Open Trade Gate Sweden, a function within the National Board of Trade Sweden’s development cooperation activities.
Through initiatives such as TechStep Sweden, companies receive training and advisory support on how the Swedish market operates, how to adapt their offers, and how to build business relationships with Swedish customers.
We also work with food companies, where the support focuses on helping businesses meet Swedish and EU requirements on food safety, labelling and sustainability. This includes both knowledge of regulations and practical preparation for dialogue with Swedish buyers and participation in trade fairs.
A common feature of these initiatives is that they combine training, individual guidance and concrete meetings with Swedish market actors. The aim is to enable companies to take the next step towards export and strengthen their competitiveness in the Swedish and EU markets.