Moldova's return to Europe

As a rule small states rarely attract international headlines. When they do so - this is for very good reasons, as with Estonia or Singapore; or for very bad ones – when affected by wars or natural disasters. In its 20 years of independence Moldova has been in none of these categories. But now Moldova has the chance to leapfrog from the category of 'muddling through' transition states into a regional success for democracy and economic modernisation.

The regional stakes for Europe are i...