Man, grab a coffee and sit down, because I've got news that'll make you forget about your bills and price hikes! Monday, in Luxembourg, our interim Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu officially opened the first negotiation chapter for the Republic of Moldova's EU accession. "Our brothers and sisters across the Prut now have the certainty of an irreversible European future," she said. Now, I don't know what to say—I was in Chișinău two years ago, with my BMW, and I stayed at a decent hotel. But honestly, I wonder: will their bureaucracy survive our standards? Because we're chaos, but they're even worse. Țoiu promised Romania will stand by them with everything: lessons from our accession, economic ties, education, infrastructure. Let's hope they don't screw it up like we did with the A7 highway.

But that's not all! The EU expanded sanctions against Russia, locking up about 80 individuals and entities. Who's at the top of the list? Bishop Tihon, the Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea, nicknamed Putin's "spiritual father." For real, bro! The EU says he spreads Russian propaganda, justifies aggression, dishes out disinformation about Nazism in Ukraine, and claims the war is "sanctioned by God." You know what that means? Me, who went to the Neamț monastery last year with my mother-in-law Veta, I saw how the priests there fear God. These Russians, on the other hand, play saints and drag us into wars. The sanctions also target Russia's Prosecutor General Gutsan, the judges who killed Navalny, the former children's ombudsman, the head of Rostec, bloggers, and propagandists. Companies: Lukoil - West Siberia, Gazpromneft Shipping, the institute making facial recognition systems with AI, the Izhevsk aircraft plant, and others. Basically, they're cutting off their oxygen.

Tihon, boss, has known Putin since 1999, when he was at the FSB. They say he baptized the daughter of Rosneft's chief, Sechin. So no wonder the EU blacklisted him. I think Brussels is doing the right thing, but I wonder: when will they give us some cash? Moldova joins the EU, and we're still stuck with half a highway. Come on, let's be serious! I'm waiting to see when it's our turn to get some of our own sanctioned—maybe then roads will get built faster.

But let's not forget about Gorj, where mining is dying and locals are left in the dark. There, in Târgu Jiu, they sit and stare at Brâncuși and wonder: what do we do when the mines close? That's Romania, bro: we have basic problems, but we deal with others. At least this time, the EU is doing something concrete.

I don't know how you see it, but I think it's a good step. If Moldova joins the EU, maybe the highway will finally reach Iași. Until then, I'm going to tell Mioara to watch the news—maybe I'll get out of making sarmale on Sundays if the Moldovans come to work.