EU allocates additional funds for our country. Marta Kos: "We will support the Republic of Moldova as long as it needs it"
The European Union will continue to support the Republic of Moldova until the country's energy sector becomes fully independent and integrated into the European market, said European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, during a press conference held in Chisinau, alongside President Maia Sandu. The official stated that EU support for candidate countries is a priority, and the assistance package for the Republic of Moldova is structured in several stages.
"There are many phases to the entire support package, initially 30 million euros were offered for immediate aid, all the money goes to Chisinau, even if we help the left bank, we help people because it is a humane gesture, we will coordinate this with the Government and this will happen permanently," said Marta Kos.
A second package of 60 million euros is conditional on respect for human rights and the measures that the Tiraspol administration will take in this regard. Moreover, for the right bank, the EU will allocate about 250 million euros this year, and the next instalments are planned for the next three years.
"This package will make your system more resilient and independent, after which we will use this money to help compensate for the high tariffs on the right bank, the bills will be lower, after which we will create a fund for the most vulnerable families, for schools and hospitals, this will represent an additional aid of 20 million euros, after which we will create a fund for businesses worth 50 million," the official emphasized.
In parallel, through the Growth Plan, reforms will be implemented to strengthen Moldova's energy independence.
"These packages represent only part of the support provided to the Republic of Moldova, but they demonstrate our solidarity," Marta Kos added.
In this context, President Maia Sandu explained that for the next support package, valid until the end of the heating season, certain conditions are to be met.
"These will be discussed by the Government, the EU and non-governmental organizations active in the field of human rights. We will see what the reaction on the left bank will be and to what extent it will accept these conditions," declared Sandu.
We remind you that the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, is making her first working visit to the Republic of Moldova. During the visit, the Commissioner has planned meetings with Prime Minister Dorin Recean and the Parliament Speaker, Igor Grosu. She will have discussions with the Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, Dumitru Alaiba, and the Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Cristina Gherasimov.
Last week the Government in Chisinau signed an agreement on non-reimbursable financial assistance from the European Union, worth 64 million euros.
At the same time, the Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan announced that the European Parliament had adopted the report on the Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova worth 1.8 billion euros. According to him, only the final negotiations with the Council of the European Union are now pending, and the Growth Facility should enter into force in March.
