President Maia Sandu said on Monday Moldovans had won a "first battle in a difficult fight" for their future, a day after a slim majority of 50.4% backed EU accession at a referendum that has been roiled by allegations of Russia-backed meddling.

The tight finish - with fewer than 1.5% of the ballots still to be counted - is far from a resounding endorsement of the pro-EU path that Sandu has pursued

While the "yes" vote in Moldova's EU referendum clears the way for the country's path to the bloc, the slim margin of the win is not going to make things easy for pro-EU President Maia Sandu.