Representatives of 45 countries and institutions gathered in the French capital for the third ministerial conference of the Moldova Support Platform to increase and consolidate their promised support to Moldova. The event was held on the initiative of France, Germany and Romania, IPN reports.
International donors have pledged more than €100 million to help Moldova deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron announced investments of €85 million in Moldova’s energy sector. Macron vowed to continue helping Moldova and said that “fighting for Moldova today is part of the war effort we lead alongside Ukraine.”
Germany pledged about €32.3 million for renewable energy, infrastructure and refugee aid. “We will not leave Moldova alone in cold or darkness, nor in a looming recession,” stated German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze said that besides this, Berlin would offer €28.7 million for strengthening energy efficiency of buildings in Moldova.
For her part, the President of Moldova Maia Sandu said the pledges “will help us move forward with our reforms, keep social peace, maintain stability, and continue contributing to a more stable continent.”
“This war is endangering the supply of electricity and gas. We are not certain we can find enough ... to heat and light our homes, and even if we do, the prices are unaffordable for our people and economy. This could jeopardize our social peace and security,” President Maia Sandu told delegates in a speech.
Recently, Germany donated €40 million to Moldova, while the EBRD provided a loan of €300 million to deal with the shortage of gas. On November 10, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced in Chisinau that the EU would offer Moldova an additional package to the value of €250 million to overcome the severe energy crisis amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Also, the U.S. offered US$50 million in additional support to help strengthen Moldova’s energy security, including to purchase electricity.
Romania stepped in to sell gas and electricity to Moldova at reduced prices. Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu told reporters that Romania has supplied Moldova with about 90% of its electricity needs but more needed to be done to make the supply sustainable and for Moldova to find other sources.
Romania pledged to offer Moldova a €10 million grant in direct budget support and to deliver 130,000 cubic meters of firewood at a preferential price to help Chisinau cover the shortage caused by the slashing of gas supplies by Gazprom.
President Maia Sandu thanked the Romanian authorities for the support provided to Moldova, saying that Romania “is our good neighbor that offers us solid support”.
IPN notes that the first two similar conferences held earlier this year in Berlin and Bucharest saw pledges totaling over €1.2 billion.
