Moldova opens talks over admission to Energy Community Treaty

A Moldovan delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Tudor Copaci is paying a working visit to Brussels between September 16 and 18. The aim of the visit is to open talks on Moldova’s joining of the Energy Community Treaty, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the Ministry of Economy and Trade. Presently, Moldova has the status of observer to this organization. “If Moldova joins the Energy Community, it could integrate into the regional energy market and the country’s energy security will improve,” Tudor Copaci said before departure. The member states of the organization are the European Union member states, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. The Energy Community aims to create a common area for regulating the energy market on the territory of the EU and in South Eastern Europe. The Energy Community Treaty was signed by the member states on October 25, 2005. On September 17, Tudor Copaci will have a meeting with representatives of the donor community – the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Investment Bank – and examine the possibilities of financing the implementation of the National Energy Strategy for 2007-2020 the next year. A number of projects designed to develop the internal power distribution networks worth 20 million lei were carried out during the first implementation year of the National Energy Strategy. About 6.2 million lei was spent for strengthening the power lines that connect Moldova with the neighboring countries. The budget of the 13-year strategy is about 800 million euros. The financial resources will be allocated from the state budget. There will be attracted private investment and assistance from international donors.