Moldova becomes part of European energy system, European official

Moldova is becoming part of the European energy system, Fabrizio Barbaso, Deputy Director General for Energy at the European Commission, said in a news conference held during a break in the meeting of the Eastern Partnership Platform 3 (Energy Security) that is taking place in Chisinau, Info-Prim Neo reports. Fabrizio Barbaso stated he convinced himself of this during the discussions he had, including in this meeting, which focuses on the security of energy supplies and the development of energy infrastructure projects. “The new European policy on the development of energy infrastructure takes into account the adjacent markets of the EU. The final goal is to create a common, pan-European energy market. Thus, the EU is ready to provide co-financing for projects of common interest for the Eastern Partnership countries so as to integrate them into the European market,” said the European official. According to him, the EU is disposed to offer financial support for a number of investment projects, including the Ungheni – Iasi gas pipeline. There will be provided a grant to the value of €7 million from the funds of the crossborder cooperation program. Besides, this year the EU allocated 42.6 million lei for energy projects in support of the budget. €20 million was provided within a project to 16 Moldovan towns that signed the European Convenant of Mayors. There are also other projects. “Moldova’s market is small. In order to integrate, your country should cooperate with other states, including the neighboring countries Romania and Ukraine. The business environment should be improved so as to attract investments to the energy sector and modernize it,” said Fabrizio Barbaso. He approved of the efforts made by Moldova to adjust the legislation on energy. “But it is important that these laws be implemented. There must be formulated the normative documents envisioned by these laws as only they can set clear game rules for all the energy system operators,” said the Deputy Director General for Energy. He also said that the EU will soon launch a new instrument for financing interconnections, while on October 12 the European Commission will consider the possibility of financing the project for Moldova and Ukraine to join the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENSTO-E). The meeting of the Eastern Partnership Platform 3 is held within the Energy Week. Moldova holds the presidency of the Energy Community in 2011.