The Republic of Moldova will be able to access non-reimbursable EU funds for financing infrastructure projects in the transport, energy and digital sectors. Parliament voted to ratify the agreement on Moldova’s participation in the Connecting Europe Facility with the European Union after giving it a first reading, IPN reports.

“It should be noted that the Republic of Moldova was the first non-EU member state that joined this Facility and, when the agreement is ratified, our country will have access to funds, alongside the EU member states, to develop railways, airports, bridges, roads, power networks and other connections with the European Union,” Gennady Marian, secretary of state of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, stated in Parliament.

According to the official, this way the Moldovan authorities and companies will be able to take part in calls for proposals starting with the next call of this autumn, to the value of €2.5 billion.

Moldova’s participation in the Connecting Europe Facility is contingent on the payment of a financial contribution for 2023-2027, separately for each of the three sectors. For transport, this is €360,000, for energy - €169,000, for the digital realm - €45,000.

The agreement on Moldova’s participation in the Connecting Europe Facility with the EU was signed in Chisinau on May 9, 2023. The bill to ratify the agreement is to be given a final reading.