The same week Moldova announced it would finally sever legal ties with Russia’s Commonwealth of Independent States, representatives from Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine gathered in Chișinău to launch something new: a joint Chamber of Commerce designed to channel EU funding toward Ukraine’s reconstruction.
“This is an important first step that will help the economic development of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine—but especially help Ukraine rebuild.”
Over 400 institutions from all three countries have endorsed the initiative, which received EU and European Parliament backing. A working group now includes officials from all three states plus Brussels.
“In my opinion, this is an important first step that will help the economic development of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine—but especially help Ukraine rebuild,” former US Ambassador to Romania Adrian Zuckerman said at the 20 January conference.
The timing is pointed. Moldova is finalizing its exit from the CIS by mid-February—a move that follows President Maia Sandu’s recent openness to discussing reunification with Romania. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy and Sandu discussed “strengthening trilateral cooperation” just two weeks ago.
From idea to institution
The Chamber proposal first emerged at the European Parliament in June 2025, pushed by Moldova’s Institute for Project Development and Expertise as part of an alliance of Eastern European MEPs focused on Ukraine’s reconstruction. Debates in Bucharest and Iași followed before the Chișinău meeting formalized the working group.
Romania, already in the EU, positions itself as a bridge.
Mykola Kutsak, head of Ukraine’s Chernivtsi District Council and a member of the working group, told Ukrinform that the chamber would direct “the maximum number of EU grant projects” toward Ukraine’s recovery from the war.
Romania, already in the EU, positions itself as a bridge. “The good practices we’ve experienced—particularly attracting European funds for community development—are something Moldova and Ukraine must also go through,” Adrian Cozma, vice president of Romania’s Chamber of Deputies, said at the conference.
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The Chamber would create a platform for companies from all three countries to form consortia for cross-border reconstruction projects.
The Chamber is part of a broader trilateral build-up. Since Romania initiated the format in 2022, the three countries have held regular foreign ministers’ meetings, launched a joint customs training platform in late 2025, and signed an eCustoms pilot agreement under the EU4Digital Initiative.
The Chamber would create a platform for companies from all three countries—and the EU—to form consortia for cross-border reconstruction projects, according to IDEP Moldova.
Small European nations have built regional ties this way before—the Baltic states used their Assembly to coordinate EU and NATO accession after 1991. Whether this trilateral format deepens into something similar depends on what comes next.
