Moldova’s Prime Minister Munteanu steps down

By Alexander Tanas

CHISINAU, July 3 (Reuters) – Moldova’s Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu said on Friday he was stepping down, saying in a surprise announcement that he could no longer do his job in accordance with his convictions.

Munteanu, whose announcement triggers the resignation of the government, has since November 2025 served as head of an administration committed to President Maia Sandu’s pledge to join the European Union by the end of the decade.

He gave no further details for his decision.

Munteanu’s move comes amid an outcry in Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, following recent media reports about overly high salaries at MoldATSA, the state agency on airspace security, and other state-owned companies.

“Today, my term as Prime Minister comes to an end,” Munteanu said in a post on X. “The moment I realized that I could no longer carry out my mandate in accordance with my principles and convictions, I chose to step down.”

The move is a challenge for Sandu and her pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), now in its second consecutive term with a majority in the 101-seat parliament.   

“We are observing an acute governance crisis in Moldova. The administration is at a crossroads,” political analyst Vitali Andrievski said. “They are trying to cover up the governance crisis and appoint an obedient prime minister.”

Sandu told reporters Munteanu would remain in his role until a new prime minister is appointed, adding that she would hold consultations with parliamentary factions next week. The government’s resignation does not, by itself, trigger elections for parliament or president.

The EU’s ambassador to Moldova, Iwona Piorko, said the 27-member bloc would continue to support Moldova’s membership drive.

DIFFICULT REFORMS

Sandu thanked Munteanu and his cabinet for their service and for initiating “difficult but needed reforms.”

“Moldova’s path remains unchanged: reforms and EU accession,” she said on X.

In her comments to reporters, Sandu said: “Speculation that he (Munteanu) wanted to tackle abuses but was prevented from doing so is false. He had complete freedom to run the government as he saw fit. He decided to step down of his own accord.”

Munteanu, 62, was appointed following a September 2025 parliamentary election in which PAS resoundingly defeated a Russia-leaning rival and won a fresh mandate.

Before that, he worked outside Moldova for some 20 years, including for the World Bank.

“I will continue to serve my country from whatever position I may hold,” he said.

Dan Perciun, Moldova’s minister of education and research, told Moldovan television later on Friday that he had met Sandu, but dismissed as premature any suggestion that he was being considered as a successor. He acknowledged that he had voiced disagreements with Munteanu over tax policy.

Moldova is nestled between Ukraine and EU member Romania. It has a Romanian-speaking majority and a large Russian-speaking minority. Political power has oscillated for decades between parties supporting closer ties with Europe and those seeking better relations with Moscow.

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and Alexander TanasEditing by Gareth Jones, Peter Graff, Rod Nickel and Ron Popeski)