Nevertheless, the EU is developing an increasingly close relationship with Moldova, going beyond cooperation, to gradual economic integration and a deepening of political cooperation.[1] The EU has opened an office in Chişinău (the Moldovan capital), and on 23 March 2005 appointed Adriaan Jacobovits de Szeged as special representative to Moldova with a focus on the resolution of the crisis in Transnistria. The European Commission opened up a new office in Moldova on 6 October 2005 headed by Cesare de Montis.