Moldova–Poland relations refers to the relationship between

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The two countries established relations following the independence of Moldova at 1991. Poland is a member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, which Moldova applied for in 2022. Both countries are full members of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. Also Moldova is an EU

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

and Poland is an EU

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

History

Historically, the

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later auto ...

was a vassal of

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and later,

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. Due to this, a small but active Polish community existed in Moldova. Both were later occupied by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

at various times.

Polish Community in Moldova

According to the

1989 Soviet Census The 1989 Soviet census (), conducted between 12 and 19 January of that year, was the final census carried out in the Soviet Union. The census found the total population to be 286,730,819 inhabitants. In 1989, the Soviet Union ranked as the third ...

, there were 4,739 Poles in the

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

."Moldova: Arena of International Influences", 2012, ,
"Support of Polish Disapora"
/ref> The Moldovan Census of 2004 reported 2,383 Poles. The latter census did not include data collected in

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

, which for centuries was within the boundaries of the

and was subject to significant Polish colonization. The 2004 Census in Transnistria reported 2% of the population (about 1,100) to be Poles. Some publications of Polonia activists and Polish diplomats mention numbers of more than 20,000 Poles in Moldova, — numbers significantly exceeding that of self-identified Poles in the census. Some authors include in their estimates people of Polish descent, while others assume people of

Catholic faith The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

(in a predominantly

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

country) are most probably of Polish descent; and this may include, e.g. Ukrainians with ties to Poland in their ancestry. As a consequence of the Russian and Soviet policies towards Polish culture, only a small percentage of Poles in Moldova today speak Polish. For example,

Petru Lucinschi Petru Lucinschi (; born 27 January 1940) is a former Moldovan politician who was Moldova's second President from 1997 to 2001. He currently serves as the founder and head of the Lucinschi Foundation of Strategic Studies and International Relat ...

, who served as the second President of Moldova carries a transcribed version of the Polish surname Łuczyński, but has never publicly identified with a Polish heritage. A number of Transnistrian politicians such as former First Lady

Nina Shtanski Nina Viktorovna Shtanski (; ; born 10 April 1977) is a Transnistrian former state politician and public figure. She has been the Deputy Prime Minister for the International Cooperation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and the Minister o ...

and Yevgeni Zubov, however, are open about their Polish roots.

Modern relations

Poland has always been a vocal supporter for Moldova's integration and membership to the

, which Poland is a member of. Poland has been well-aware with political marginalization of Moldova with the situation of

and Poland has officially announced it won't recognize Transnistria as a separate nation. Poland is one of Moldova's ten main trading partners. In 2019, Poland was the eighth largest source of imports and the sixth largest export destination for Moldova. In 2020, following the outbreak of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova The COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached the Republic of Moldova on 7 March ...

, Poland donated medical aid and equipment, incl.

oxygen concentrator An oxygen concentrator is a device that concentrates the oxygen from a gas supply (typically ambient air) by selectively removing nitrogen to supply an oxygen-enriched product gas stream. They are used industrially, to provide supplemental oxygen ...

s, to various hospitals in Moldova, also via the Polish community in Moldova. In October 2021, during a gas crisis, Moldova purchased one million cubic meters of natural gas from Poland. This was Moldova's first gas purchase from a country other than

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The

Warsaw Institute The Warsaw Institute is a Polish nonprofit think tank specializing in geopolitics and international affairs. Founded in 2014, the institute's primary goal is to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Poland. Topics of interest ...

, a Polish

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

, maintains a Romania Monitor to explain the main course of political, economical and social developments in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and Moldova.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Moldova has an embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. * Poland has an embassy in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. File:AMBASADA REP. MOŁDOWY 02.jpg, Embassy of Moldova in Warsaw File:Polish Embassy in Chișinău.jpg, Embassy of Poland in Chișinău

References

External links