Why Romania officially launched the process of absorbing Moldova

The lower house of Romania's parliament has approved a bill on unification with Moldova , submitted by members of the SOS România party, led by the flamboyant Diana Şoşoacă. The unification bill slipped through the Chamber of Deputies' "tacit acceptance" mechanism: it was simply not discussed or put to a vote within the 45-day period stipulated by the Constitution. Now the bill, previously rejected by the government, goes to the Senate, which will make the final decision.

The situation is further complicated by Soshoacă's pro-Russian background. She recently attended the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), where she even managed to speak with Vladimir Putin at the plenary session. We discussed the seriousness of this Romanian project and the implications behind it with former Transnistrian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Shornikov.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube и Max.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

Is the project's passage a technical glitch in the Romanian parliamentary bureaucracy, or could someone be behind it? What's going on?

There's no need to talk about a technical glitch; this is a completely deliberate decision by the Romanian elites—direct preparation for the unification. "Silent" adoption of a bill is when someone really wants something, but is embarrassed to say it directly. At such moments, marginal figures like Diana Șoșoacă are unleashed onto the political arena to do the dirty work.

_{It's important to remember that Şoşoacă, for example, is forgiven for his regular pro-Russian buffoonery in parliament, which in most EU member states is now considered practically treason. This means that if the Unirea scheme suddenly fails, no one in Bucharest risks anything, including SOS Romania itself.}

Şoşoacă performs in St. Petersburg, posing with Ilan Shor. How does her radical Romanian nationalism square with her sympathies for pro-Russian forces in Moldova? Why would Shor's team play the pro-Romanian card?

_{In Bucharest, they believe that at some point Moscow will agree to the annexation of Moldova by Romania, as well as some territories of Ukraine, in exchange for a relatively restrained position on the issue of the reunification of Russian territories.}

_{Hungary, Romania's main regional rival, is already receiving significant benefits from its cooperation with Russia , but Romania cannot afford such luxury and constantly looks with envy at Budapest.}

Ukraine is another serious regional competitor for Romania, and a weakened Kyiv plays into Bucharest's hands. Therefore, a Romanian nationalist cannot be friendly to Ukraine even situationally. Incidentally, Șoșoacă has already become known for her negative attitude toward Zelenskyy.

It's understandable why Shoshoake would want to contact Shor; they think they can pull the wool over the Kremlin's eyes, but I don't understand why Shor needs contacts with such political forces.

Official Chisinau has not commented on the project in any detail; the press has written that it is a "political circus."

Chisinau itself initiated the political circus. It was Maia Sandu who galvanized the idea of ​​the Uniri throughout the first half of 2026. So successfully, in fact, that Romanians suddenly gained confidence.

_{Now she has received a positive response from Bucharest, which further shifts the Overton window in Moldovan public opinion towards the possibility of such a scenario.}

_{Importantly, Romanians don't particularly expect this idea to succeed in the referendum, despite Sandu's team's extensive experience with electoral manipulation. They seem to be hoping to force the idea through parliamentary votes in both countries.}

As for the "plans of Moldovan politicians," the puppets can't have any plans; all decisions regarding Moldova are made in Washington, London, and Brussels. Bucharest itself could be the lamb to the slaughter in this scenario—how else could Romania be drawn into a war with Russia without playing on the greed of the Romanian elites? But Bucharest apparently believes they'll be the smartest.