In January-October 2022, the public sector of Moldova received loans and grants from the European Union for $216 million, of which half of the amount was grants.
Such data are provided by experts from the Independent Analytical Center Expert-Grup, noting that grants, in particular, include: a grant from the European Commission under the Contract for the Strengthening of the State and the Resilience of Moldova (75 million euros), a grant from the European Commission as part of macro-financial assistance (15 million euros) and grant from the Romanian International Development Cooperation Agency (RoAid) (10 million euros). The loan part consisted of: a loan from the European Commission under macro-financial assistance (35 million euros), a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ($28 million), a loan from the Polish government (20 million euros), a loan from the European Investment Bank ($16 million), a loan from the French Development Agency (15 million euros). This assistance is intended both to support the current expenditures of the government, including pensions and compensations, and to develop the regions and villages of Moldova through financing the construction or repair of social and infrastructure facilities. Among the main ongoing projects financed from European sources, the experts note the Financial Agreement “Contract for the Strengthening of the State and the Resilience of Moldova” for managing the energy crisis, which included a grant assistance from the European Commission in the amount of 60 million euros, and was subsequently supplemented by another grant in the amount of 75 million Euro. Its goal is to mitigate the socio-economic consequences of rising gas prices, especially for vulnerable groups of the population; support long-term socio-economic recovery, energy security and energy transition in Moldova. The €70 million Covid-19 Rapid Response and Support to MSME project, funded by a loan from the Council of Europe Development Bank, aims to support the Moldovan healthcare system in the fight against Covid-19, as well as support small businesses through the provision of liquidity needed to save and create jobs. The Livada Moldovei project with a total budget of 120 million euros is a credit line provided by the European Investment Bank to the Moldovan government, which in turn provides loans through commercial banks to enterprises in the agricultural sector; a project for the purchase of locomotives and the restructuring of the railway infrastructure worth €165 million, co-financed by the EBRD and the EIB. The experts also highlight the Technical and Financial Assistance Program between the Government of Romania and the Government of Moldova on the basis of 100 million euros of gratuitous financial assistance, most of which is earmarked for the Regional and Local Development Fund. The total cost of another important project to improve solid waste management services and create an integrated solid waste management system is 103 million euros, which will be covered by EIB and EBRD loans and grants from other donors (GIZ, Czech Development Agency). Also of great importance is the Balti Municipality Thermal Power Modernization Project – Phase II, financed by a €14 million loan from the EBRD, €1 million from the Green Climate Fund and a €2 million grant from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Security Partnership Facility. environment. The Moldova Building Energy Efficiency Project, worth 75 million euros, is also called very important and will be secured by loans from the EBRD and the EIB and an investment grant of 15 million euros provided through the European Commission's Neighborhood Investment Platform. The aim of the project is to improve the energy performance of public buildings. Recently, at the third international donor conference in Paris, the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, promised to allocate an additional 32 million euros to Moldova, and French President Emmanuel Macron announced an aid of 100 million euros. Thus, as analysts emphasize, the EU is a reliable economic partner that Moldova can rely on.// 19.12.2022 — InfoMarket
