Moldova and Ukraine will be able to get more financial aid under the Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme.
The Ministry of Finance of Moldova announced this, noting that the decision to increase the financial assistance for Moldovan and Ukrainian beneficiaries was taken by the Joint Monitoring Committee of the said program at its 7th meeting, held in online format. The meeting was attended by representatives of 8 program countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Moldova. At the beginning of the meeting, detailed information was provided on the general condition of the projects, implementation of the program, its financial situation at the moment, as well as the prospects for completion of the ongoing projects. At the same time, during the meeting there were considered the provisions of the new Regulation of the European Union concerning the ongoing programs, affected by the situation in Ukraine (Regulation of the European Parliament and Council № 2292 of 09.11.2022, establishing specific provisions for cooperation programs for the 2014-2020 period, supported by the European Neighborhood Instrument and within the framework of the European territorial cooperation goals, after the failure of the programs), which were presented by the representative of the European Commission. The Committee members also discussed ways to use the flexibilities in the relevant provision, taking into account the savings accumulated in the program. As a result, it was decided to increase the amount of grant awarded to projects at the expense of savings accumulated at the program level, with priority given to projects with beneficiaries from Moldova and Ukraine, as countries most severely affected by the consequences of the armed conflict in Ukraine. As InfoMarket Agency earlier reported, the period of implementation of the Black Sea Joint Operational Programme 2014-2020 was extended for another year - till the end of 2025. The amendment to the financial agreement between the Government of Moldova, the European Union and the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration of Romania, ratified by the Moldovan Parliament, provides for that. Thus, the Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme 2014-2020 will be completed no later than December 31, 2025. The trilateral financial agreement on the Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Program 2014-2020 for the European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI) Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020 was signed on December 12, 2016. The document provides a grant of 49 million euros. Beneficiaries of the program are local and district public authorities, public institutions, cultural and research and community associations from the 8 participating countries of the program. // 19.12.2022 – InfoMarket
