International and bilateral donors have pledged to provide Moldova with 1.3 billion euros of additional assistance under the Moldova Support Platform.
The European Commission informed about it, having informed that on behalf of the European Union it had allocated to Moldova the first tranche of 50 million euros of the new macro-financial aid of 150 million euros for our country. 35 million euros was provided in long-term preferential loans and 15 million euros in grants. It was the first disbursement under the new EU macro-financial assistance package for Moldova, which entered into force on July 18, 2022 and is available for 2.5 years. The macro-financial assistance is part of a larger program of support from the EU and international donors to Moldova to help it survive multiple crises under the interagency Moldova Support Platform, initiated April 5 in Berlin. As noted in the European Commission's materials, the war in Ukraine has significantly affected the Moldovan economy, exacerbating pre-existing serious problems and imbalances. Despite being among the poorest countries in Europe, Moldova has received the largest number of Ukrainian refugees per capita. Continued aggression has also led to significant trade disruptions, affecting Moldova's external position, and rising inflation has further undermined already vulnerable economic prospects. Thus, EU macro-financial assistance should help Moldova meet its urgent financing needs and support overall macroeconomic stability. It will also strengthen further implementation of reforms in priority areas. It is stressed that Moldova made commendable efforts to meet all three conditions for the disbursement of the first tranche of macro-financial assistance. These included actions related to the fight against corruption and the rule of law, financial sector governance and energy sector reforms to improve the country's energy sustainability. It is noted that Moldova also continues to meet the preconditions for the respect of human rights, effective democratic mechanisms and the rule of law, and has a positive experience with the current IMF program. The European Commission stated that it will continue to work closely with Moldova to ensure further implementation of the macro-financial assistance program. Macro-financial assistance operations are part of the EU's broader engagement with neighboring countries and are conceived as the EU's exclusive crisis response tool. They are available to EU neighboring countries experiencing severe balance of payments problems. In addition to macro-financial assistance, the EU supports Moldova through a number of other instruments, including budget support, thematic programs, technical assistance and mixed mechanisms to support investments. In response to the ongoing aggression against Ukraine, the EU is supporting Moldova through various forms of assistance, including macro-financial assistance as well as: i) a planned supplementary budget support of 75 million euros under the state consolidation and sustainability contract for Moldova; ii) humanitarian assistance of 8 million euros to support safe border crossing and basic living conditions for refugees in Moldova; iii) 15 million euros to support decent and efficient processing of refugees and safe transit and repatriation of third-country nationals; (iv) 15 million euros to support the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM). The ministerial conference held in Berlin on April 5 marked the launch of the Moldova Support Platform, an intergovernmental instrument designed to help the country overcome the serious challenges posed by the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. A second conference to further support Moldova was organized in Bucharest on July 15. So far, international and bilateral donors have pledged to provide Moldova with about 1.3 billion euros of additional aid in six priority areas. // 02.08.2022 - InfoMarket
