Moldova may receive two tranches of additional EU macro-financial assistance totaling 145 million euros by the end of 2023.
EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni stated this at a joint briefing in Chisinau with the Prime Minister of Moldova Dorin Recean. He noted that at the meeting, the sides agreed on the conditions that need to be met for the EU to allocate these funds to Moldova. Paolo Gentiloni said the conditions are measures needed to consolidate energy security, improve the business environment, support the fight against corruption, consolidate the rule of law and improve public sector governance. "These actions that we discussed related to our macro-financial assistance represent an important aspect of Moldova's preparation for EU accession, and they are all in line with the nine recommendations made by the European Commission when granting Moldova the EU accession candidate status. We know that some commitments have been fully implemented, others need further efforts, and we are expecting prompt actions to meet these commitments," Paolo Gentiloni said. He voiced confidence that the necessary actions will be taken and Moldova will benefit from two tranches of additional EU macro-financial assistance worth 145 million euros by late 2023. The European Commissioner noted that, all in all, the amount of the EU macro-financial assistance for Moldova allocated last year and this year will reach 295 million euros. Paolo Gentiloni said that, besides this assistance, the European Commission has also worked out an Economic and Investment Plan, which aims at mobilizing public and private investments in Moldova worth 1.6 billion euros for flagship projects, in order to support companies and attract new direct investments. He also emphasized that a new conference within the Moldova Support Platform, initiated by France, Germany and Romania, will be held in Chisinau this October. Paolo Gentiloni said that, over the last years, Moldova has been facing enormous challenges: pandemic, energy crisis, impact of the war in Ukraine and hybrid threats, refugee crisis. He stressed that Moldova has coped with these shocks, including thanks to the EU's macro-financial assistance. Paolo Gentiloni congratulated Moldova on the success of the June 1 summit of the European Political Community, stressing also that the European Commission will continue to support Moldova and looks forward to further fruitful cooperation with it. As InfoMarket agency earlier reported, the current package of the EU macro-financial support for Moldova took effect on 18 July 2022 and provided for granting 150 million euros initially, including 120 million euros in soft loans and 30 million euros in grants. At the same time, the first tranche of 50 million euros was allocated to Moldova by the European Commission last August. On April 5 this year Moldova received a grant of 10 million euros from the European Commission under the second tranche of macro-financial assistance, and another 40 million euros in loans was allocated to our country in early May. At the same time, the European Commission decided to increase the total amount of macro-financial assistance to Moldova from 150 million euros to 295 million euros. The additional macro-financial assistance of the EU will be used to support economic stabilization and structural reform program in Moldova, supplementing the resources provided under the IMF financial agreement. It is planned that out of 295 million euros the EU will provide Moldova with up to 220 million euros in loans and up to 75 million euros - in grants. // 07.07.2023 – InfoMarket
