Government signs three financing agreements with European Commission as part of European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument

Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii and the Director for Europe, Southern Mediterranean, Middle East and Neighborhood Policy at the European Commission’s EuropeAid Cooperation Office Marcus Cornaro signed three financing agreements as part of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument on December 2, Info-Prim Neo reports. Greceanii said that 15 million euros in non-reimbursable aid will be provided under the first two agreements. According to the Premier, the European Commission applies the Neighborhood Investment Facility for the first time. Moldova will be allotted 15 million euros from the total budget of 25 million euros approved for the programming year 2007, which is designed for Eastern European countries. 12 million euros of the 15 will be allocated for implementing the road rehabilitation project in Moldova. The European Commission grant comes as additional support for implementing the project, besides the loans offered by the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank. The total cost of the project is about 92 million euros. The budget resources will make up a large part of this sum. The other 3 million euros will go to co-finance a project to restore the National Clinical Hospital and will be used to build a surgical block, reconstruct the first floor of the central block and renovate the 14th and 15th floors. The third financing agreement will help implement the joint Moldova-Romania-Ukraine operational program for 2007-2013. This program has a budget of 137.4 million euros for 7 programming years for three countries. The EU will contribute about 126 million euros. The funds are intended for local public authorities, public associations, universities and research institutions that are to contribute 15% of the cost of the project. The program supports projects that favor the social and economic development, environment protection, preparation for emergencies, investment projects in the water supply sector, transport infrastructure, energy industry and activities that promote educational, cultural and sports exchanges and the development of the civil society, carried out by the local authorities. The program stipulates the priorities and eligible measures. The best projects that will benefit from financing will be selected by tender contest. The Prime Minister informed that the talks have been practically finalized and the National Action Program as part of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument will be signed in the near future. Under the Program, 62 million euros will be offered as grant during three years. 46 million euros of this will represent direct support to the budget and will be used to reform the healthcare sector. Zinaida Grecianii also said that during a bilateral meeting they agreed to hasten the formulation of the National Action Program for 2009. Marcus Cornaro said he was satisfied with the cooperation with Moldova as part of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument this year. “The signing of the three agreements will give a new impetus to the future cooperation. Besides, we hope that the grant offered for two infrastructure-related projects will be a good signal for other potential donors to support important projects for Moldova. We expect that the cooperation in 2009 will be even more fruitful,” Cornaro said.