Moldova's constitutional court confirms EU accession referendum results

Moldova's Constitutional Court confirmed on Thursday the results of the referendum held on Oct. 20, approving the country's path to European Union (EU) accession.

The referendum posed the question to citizens about their support for a constitutional amendment for Moldova's EU accession. With a turnout of 50.72 percent, 1,532,264 ballots were cast, with 749,719 in favor of the constitutional amendment affirming EU integration and 739,155 in opposition.

According to the amendment, two new provisions will be added to Moldova's constitution, reaffirming the country's European identity and irreversibility of its EU integration, while also establishing EU accession as a national strategic goal.

The amendment will take effect from the date of the court's ruling and its publication in the official gazette.

In March 2022, Moldova submitted its application for EU membership, and later in June, it was granted candidate country status. In June 2024, the EU commenced membership negotiations with Moldova.

Moldova's constitutional court confirms EU accession referendum results

China has extended three pilot programs to more places for cross-border investment and financing.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange decided to extend the pilot regions for domestic reinvestment by foreign-invested enterprises and direct bank registration of foreign debts to Tianjin, Anhui, Shandong (including Qingdao), Hubei, and Sichuan, the administration said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement also said that the pilot programs allowing foreign research funds to be remitted directly to foreign-funded non-enterprise research institutions have been extended to cover 16 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Xiong'an, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Wuhan, Changsha, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Mianyang, Xi'an, and Shenzhen.

The move will further facilitate cross-border investment and financing for business and promote the flow of sci-tech innovation factors across borders.

China extends pilot programs for cross-border investment, financing