This article is presented to you in association with the European Commission.

Today, the European Union provided a 36.4 million euro grant to the Republic of Moldova to continue supporting the country’s fight against COVID-19 and police reform. Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Varhelyi confirmed the disbursement during the visit of Prime Minister Natalia GavriliÈ›a and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu in Brussels.

Olivier Varhelyi, Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, said: “The EU provided this support after the Republic of Moldova fulfilled the disbursement conditions, including making progress on key law enforcement reform priorities and the fight against COVID-19. They demonstrate the EU’s commitment to support reform in favor of the Republic of Moldova, as announced in the economic recovery plan for the Republic of Moldova, published on 2 June. This assistance will help the Republic of Moldova to strengthen the resilience of its health sector, support the process of economic recovery and support the fight against COVID-19 in the area of ​​law enforcement. “

As part of the EU’s economic recovery plan worth up to € 600 million over the next three years to promote investment in Moldova and support recovery from the COVID-19 crisis in the country, today’s disbursements consist of:

• Support for police reform in the Republic of Moldova (€ 21.4 million): Since 2016, this EU program has supported the Moldovan police in the modernization and professionalization of their structures. When COVID-19 erupted, frontline workers in the law enforcement sector were put at risk. In this context, € 21.4 million in police reform program grants were mobilized to combat COVID-19 in the law enforcement sector. In addition, progress in police reform and public trust continued to increase: in October 2020, the percentage of people expressing confidence in the police reached 41%, up from 39.5% in 2019. The proportion of women in the police force also continued to increase. upward trend, reaching 19.9% ​​in 2020. Moldovan police improved their human rights record and continued to deploy community policing. Finally, the promotion of a zero tolerance policy towards corruption continued through awareness-raising and training campaigns for police officers.
• Support for the mitigation of the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (15 million euros): This EU program, which was adopted in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, has supported the resilience of the Moldovan health system, as well as the economic recovery of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Loans at subsidized interest rates, financial guarantees and grants have been provided to SMEs, including in rural areas, to help them mitigate the negative economic impact of the pandemic. When physical stores had to close, SMEs were supported to go digital through a dedicated program. Additional measures such as unemployment benefits, tax breaks, extension of the period of the VAT refund program for agricultural producers, among others, have also been put in place.

All EU aid is subject to strict conditions. The European Union is closely monitoring the political situation and assessing compliance with the conditions before any budget support is disbursed. In addition to progress on key reforms, there should be no setbacks in the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law in Moldova.

Today’s budget support payment is part of The European team comprehensive support to Moldova to overcome the pandemic and builds on joint efforts with EU Member States. Earlier this year, Moldova was the first European country to receive donations of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility and the EU’s Vaccine Sharing Mechanism. To date, Moldova has received over 1 million doses of vaccines (over 500,000 from the COVAX center and over 500,000 from the EU Vaccine Sharing Mechanism).

Background

The European Commission quickly mobilized a tailor-made COVID-19 response plan specifically for Moldova, worth more than 127 million euros in grants from the EU budget. As part of Team Europe’s overall response, this package is used to provide concrete support to the people of Moldova. For example, a € 5 million bilateral program with the World Health Organization (WHO) was launched in January 2021 to provide additional equipment to the health system and support vaccine deployment.

In addition, a COVID-19 emergency macro-financial assistance program for Moldova, amounting to 100 million euros in loans on very favorable terms, was adopted in April 2020. The first tranche of 50 million euros euros was paid in November 2020. The second installment of 50 million euros is expected to be paid in October 2021.

On June 2, 2021, the European Commission announced an economic recovery plan for the Republic of Moldova. This is an unprecedented effort: the Commission will mobilize up to € 600 million over the next three years to promote investment in Moldova and support the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis in the country, by exchange of structural reforms. Budget support programs provide grants to partner countries to advance agreed reform priorities.