The Republic of Moldova should ensure transparency and responsibility for the correct use of the money provided as international development aid. The national authorities should offer the public accurate and detailed information about the way in which the conditions imposed by the European Union on Moldova are being fulfilled and should enable the citizens to verify the measures taken by the central Government to achieve the accession objectives, said members of the Committee for Unity and Wellbeing (CUB), who welcome the granting of the EU candidate status to Moldova.
In a statement, CUB says it is imperative for the government to report both to the EU (European political authorities and taxpayers) and to the Moldovan citizens on the way in which it uses the received assistance, behaving responsibly and transparently so as to meet the Europeanization and democracy exigency.
“We call on the European partners to ensure maximum vigilance, strict rules and extended monitoring of the process of procuring energy resources from external sources for the Republic of Moldova. The huge crisis that is approaching swiftly will not forgive any ambiguity, complicity or “business as usual” approaches,” runs the statement.
The signatories consider the assessment of the progress made in using the support provided by the European Union should be accessible to the citizens and civil society in a transparent, open and exhaustive way by avoiding incredible situations in which the monitoring is dealt with through politically affiliated bodies (co-opted „proxies”).
“The EU is the strategic project that can essentially transform society, the economy and the Republic of Moldova as a state, offering its citizens the historic chance to freely reunite in the European civilizational space. This is a chance we cannot miss. It is essential to follow the institution of rigorous mechanisms for monitoring the way in which the resources allocated by the European Union to strengthen the state and built resilience in the Republic of Moldova and other support financing in the form of grants and loans planned for 2021-2022 are used,” reads the statement.
The signatories expressed their concern about the fact that the European Commission so far has disbursed only a small sum of the €600 million announced in July 2021 for supporting economic development. “It is not clear to what extent the total assistance of about €695 million promised on April 5, 2022 by about 30 development partners at the Moldova Support Conference in Berlin is used now to achieve the set goals – management of the refugee crisis, shock of energy prices and the economic crisis generated by the pandemic in the Republic of Moldova. We consider the delay in disbursements can be due to the lack of capacities to present concrete projects for being financed,” said the CUB members.
They welcomed the recent visit to Chisinau paid by European chief prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi to avert the fraudulent use of funds from the assistance promised by the EU by preventing abuses and illegalities that can cost Moldova the accession perspective.
The CUB statement was signed by over 20 persons, among who are political researchers, ex-ambassadors of the Republic of Moldova, doctors, artists, lawyers, mayors and university professors.
