The European Parliament has called on the EU to increase financial assistance to Moldova and to disburse the next tranche of macro-financial aid as soon as possible.
In particular, this is stated in the European Parliament's Resolution of October 5 on the assessment of Moldova's progress towards EU accession. The document calls on the EU and its member states to increase financial and technical assistance to Moldova in order to facilitate Moldova's quick and efficient integration into the EU. Also, the European Parliament urged the European Commission to quickly disburse the next tranche of the current macro-financial assistance to Moldova and to identify, during the review of the multiannual financial program in 2023, additional funds that could be provided to Moldova. In this context, the European Council's decision to increase the macro-financial assistance provided to Moldova was welcomed. The European Parliament recommended the European Commission to ensure that all its future requirements are clear and precise and to avoid setting unsustainable targets for the candidate countries, stressing that the European Commission's cooperation with the authorities at an early stage of developing policies and reforms, as well as the provision of technical assistance will allow Moldova to maintain the pace and quality of reforms needed for EU accession. The resolution said that the European Parliament welcomed the European Commission's proposal to create a special support mechanism for Ukraine to support the country's recovery, reconstruction and modernization and noted that the amounts planned for this instrument for 2024-2027 of up to €50 billion, both in grants and loans, would replace the support provided to Ukraine under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) - Global Europe. In this context, the European Parliament calls for the redirection of all bilateral support to Ukraine envisaged in NDICI - Global Europe to Moldova as an EU candidate country, a neighbor of Ukraine, which has also suffered most from the consequences of the war. The European Parliament welcomed the ongoing implementation of the Association Agreement/DCFTA and encouraged the Moldovan authorities to make further efforts for its full and effective implementation, as well as reforms in the field of democracy, governance and the rule of law in general, as a confirmation of the will to prepare for EU accession and assume the obligations of an EU Member State. The European Parliament urged the EU and its member states to continue providing Moldova with political, economic and humanitarian support, including through the Moldova Support Platform. The European Parliament recalled the rapid pace of transformative economic reforms initiated by Moldova, including the launch of an ambitious process of economic deregulation, reducing and limiting bureaucracy, while accelerating the pace of digital transformation to improve Moldova's business climate and promote economic activity in Moldova. He also pointed out that trade synergies between Moldova and the EU are significant: they account for almost half of Moldova's trade last year, with more than 58% of its exports going to EU countries. // 06.10.2023 - InfoMarket
