EU and UNDP offer €13 million for confidence building measures

The European Union and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) offer €13.1 million to the Republic of Moldova as part of the Confidence Building Measures Program with the view to reconciling the two sides of the Nistru River. The Funding Agreement was signed on Tuesday, 10 January, by Prime-Minister Vlad Filat and Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Dirk Schuebel. €12 million of the total amount are provided by the EU and €1.1 million by UNDP. The entire program is designed for a 5-year period. The money will be used for projects in social infrastructure development, environment protection, water supply, cooperation for business environment development, civil society development. "Confidence is the key element in conflict resolution. The recent developments proved once again that the people who live in that region need additional care", stated Vlad Filat. Additionally, as reported by the prime-minister, 15% of the €273 million that will be provided by the European Union to the Republic of Moldova during 2011-2013 will be used for projects in the Transnistrian region. According to Ambassador Dirk Schuebel, head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, the European Union intends to open new information and business centers and continue some social projects in the Transnistrian region. "Our intention is to set up an EU information center in Tiraspol and another business center in Ribnita, besides the existing ones in Tiraspol and Bender. We funded the procurement of equipment for the perinatal center in Tiraspol and will provide further support in the social and health care sectors", stated the head of the EU Delegation. According to him, during 2011-2013 the European Union will allocate about €40 million under the Confidence Building Measures Program.