The European Union today delivered on its promise to offer €60 million to Moldova to help it cope with rising gas prices and strengthen Moldova’s green transition and energy security. The support was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shortly after the outbreak of the energy crisis this autumn.

“This support will help mitigate the socio-economic impact of the rising gas prices, in particular on vulnerable groups. In practice, it will help hundreds of thousands of Moldovan households through the winter by lowering their gas and heating bills. Beyond the immediate response to support citizens through the winter, the action will also support long-term socio-economic recovery and Moldova’s energy efficiency and security, in order to strengthen resilience to similar crises in future”, the European External Action Service said in a press release.

“The payment was made after Moldova made swift progress on the related conditions, most notably by adopting an ambitious and wide-ranging crisis response plan, which will be implemented in the coming years to the benefit of all citizens. The EU will continue to stand by Moldova and assist the country in implementing the plan”, reads the press release.

Today’s payment goes hand in hand with other EU support for the energy sector and forms part of a comprehensive EU effort to support structural reforms in the energy sector in Moldova. Recent initiatives include: the deployment of energy experts to Chisinau; a major energy efficiency program implemented together with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and the EU-Moldova High-Level Energy Dialogue, which was launched in October 2021.

Budget support programs offer grant funding to partner countries in exchange for progress on agreed reform priorities.