Moldova and the EU: what already applies
Moldova joined SEPA on 6 October 2025 and the EU roaming area on 1 January 2026. The country has held candidate status since June 2022 and has been negotiating accession since June 2024.
We have worked with development teams in Moldova for 17+ years and have watched the list of differences with the EU grow shorter, by two items in the past year: payments and roaming charges. A euro transfer to a Moldovan IBAN and a phone call from Moldova therefore work differently than they did a year ago.
Payments: now routed through SEPA
The European Payments Council admitted Moldova to SEPA, the European system for euro transfers. Since 6 October 2025 that has worked in practice: eight Moldovan banks take part. That system is larger than the EU: Moldova is not in the eurozone and not in the European Economic Area.
A euro transfer to a Moldovan IBAN has since been an ordinary SEPA transfer. Before, it was an international transfer through a chain of intermediary banks. You had to agree who paid which costs, and nobody could guarantee when the money would arrive.
Calls and data: no roaming charges
Since 1 January 2026, Moldova falls under Roam Like at Home, the EU’s roaming area. The European Commission confirms the rule works in both directions: calls, texts and mobile data all run at the rate you already pay at home. A trip there and a Moldovan developer joining a sprint in the Netherlands both fall under it.
The EU course in five milestones
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 23 June 2022 | Moldova receives candidate status. |
| 25 June 2024 | Negotiations formally start. |
| 22 September 2025 | Screening completed. |
| 15 June 2026 | Cluster 1 (fundamentals) opened. |
| 14 July 2026 | Cluster 6 (external relations) opened. |
A cluster is a group of subjects the EU and Moldova negotiate together; cluster 1 covers the rule of law, democratic institutions and public administration, among others. An opened cluster means talks are under way, not that they are finished. The European Commission names no accession year.
Source: European Commission, Moldova country page.
What accession does not change
The negotiations concern Moldovan legislation. Labour law and contract forms for staff in Moldova remain Moldovan national law until accession is complete.
Companies in Moldova IT Park pay a single 7% tax. That rate is fixed by law until 2035 and runs separately from the accession negotiations.
Accession itself remains a process of years, in which every cluster opening again requires all 27 member states to agree.
Security: Moldova’s cybersecurity law and NIS2
Moldova has its own cybersecurity law. The Moldovan cyber agency lists it in its overview of legislation under national legislation, and the European NIS2 directive under international legislation. The agency works with the EU mission in the country.
What you arrange yourself
SEPA and roaming apply to the whole country and say nothing about who can reach your code and systems. Who gets that access, and what the confidentiality agreement says, you set yourself at the start of the engagement.
Backstage IT builds development teams in Moldova from the Netherlands, with 130+ developers currently in Extended Teams. Recruitment, the office in Chișinău and HR sit with us; the client directs the work. Why we chose Moldova covers the country itself: the technical tradition, the one-hour time difference and the way developers join an existing team. Nearshoring for Dutch companies covers the practice: within 3 hours’ flight from Amsterdam, English as the working language, and which tasks sit with us and which with the client.
