Former Romanian President, is looking to obtain Moldovan citizenship in support for the neighbouring country. 

Basescu and his wife are taking the unusual step stating that whilst he was president, 500,000 Moldovans did the opposite by obtaining Romanian citizenship. He said the two countries share the same origin, and this was his way of supporting Europe’s poorest nation.

In Romania, citizens of Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia and Bulgaria can apply for Romanian citizenship if they can prove they had parents or grandparents of Romanian origin, or if they had lived in territories that were part of Romania before the end of the Second World War.

Some claim that Basescu intends on running for president in Moldova, where elections are due in the coming months. These are claims he denies.

The former president is open about his support for the ‘reunification’ of Moldova and Romania, which were joined between 1918 to 1940 before it was annexed by the Soviet Union. Moldova then became an independent country in 1991.

Today, 80% of Moldova’s population is of Romanian ethic origin and speak Romanian. However, Russian is the country’s official language.