Moldova is learning from Poland how to access and make use of European programs funding. Participants in an international conference organized in Chisinau by Business Consulting Institute in partnership with the Polish Foundation PAUCI noted that Poland has the highest absorption rate of European assistance funds and this experience is important for Moldova, IPN reports.

Krzysytof Filcek, project coordinator at PAUCI Foundation, is very pleased by the collaboration with Moldova. He said that while in other countries it was difficult to develop and implement projects, in Moldova authorities showed real interest in attracting European assistance.

Conference participants noted that Moldova still has a lot to work on the quality of projects submitted for financing. This is especially important given that the budget offered for cross-border projects in 2014-2020 is over 80 million euros.

Lucretia Ciurea, head of the State Chancellery's monitoring and evaluation division, said that the platform amp.gov.md contains information about the projects implemented with foreign assistance and those that are still underway. The database includes 1751 implemented projects with a combined value of 4.22 million euros, and 366 unfinished projects with a joint value of 2.36 million euros. In recent years, most of the foreign money went to projects in the fields of transportation and storage, government and civil society, business, agriculture, water supply and sewage. The EU tops the donors' list.

The international conference “Accessing and using the funds of European cross-border programs: the experience of local communities in Moldova and Poland” is part of the project “Preparation of Moldovan local communities for effective absorption of funds from EU cross-border cooperation programs”, supported by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Viorica Scerbina, project manager at Business Consulting Institute, said that the project provided training to 50 representatives of local public authorities and NGOs. They participated in various trainings and study visits and were helped to prepare 8 projects that were submitted for financing.