EU Ambassador to Moldova Pirkka Tapiola issued a press statement whereby he assures that the EU is fully committed to help and support Moldova on its path of real and tangible reforms that will lead the country to another development level. “The Government of the Republic of Moldova received a transfer of €45.3 million from the EU. This transfer was possible owing to the IMF program as, what we call general conditions for transfer as budget support, were met. This actually means transparency in the budgetary process, a framework on banking surveillance and others, which were transposed to the IMF program and confidence was thus restored,” stated Pirkka Tapiola, quoted by IPN.
The European official explained that as a result of negotiations, Moldova managed to ensure the approval of a three-year country program by the IMF Board on November 7 this year. “From our viewpoint, this result showed the establishment of a framework and this guarantees the return to macro-financial stability. If you consider in detail previous actions and the program, you will see that many aspects are present as to governance in the banking sector, banking surveillance and powers of the National Bank. These are problems stipulated in the program, which should be addressed to guarantee that such events as those of 2014 in the banking sector will not repeat,” stated Tapiola.
The diplomat said the EU will continue to monitor the implementation of the program with the IMF because it is very important for the future reforms covered by the program to remain on track. Pirkka Tapiola referred to the four sector budget support programs within which the EU provided assistance. These are not new programs and they were agreed before 2014. Thus, it is not about a new budget support framework, but about the resumption of payments for older programs that have been already initiated.
“In the case of one of the programs, called Economic Stimulation in Rural Areas, we actually transferred the last payment. This was one of the budget support programs that achieved the best results. It is a program within which, I dare to say, the Moldovans felt the most tangible and major benefits. By the last tranche transferred for this project, there were covered the costs of building two business incubators that created almost 200 new businesses,” said the Head of the EU Delegation in Chisinau.
The ambassador also spoke about the PARE 1+1 program for which payments were unlocked. Another program concerns the general management of public finances in Moldova, which is also known as the public finance policy reform program. Another program supported financially by the EU – European Neighborhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development - envisions the modernization of animal farms and food businesses and ensuring of compliance with EU food quality and safety rules.
“Moldova has extraordinary potential in the agricultural sector. However, in order to be really competitive on the EU market, modernization and adjustment to the EU standards are needed. The farmers will personally feel the benefits of this program, while the financial resources will be transferred directly through the National Agency for Intervention and Payments. The last program refers to education and professional training,” stated Pirkka Tapiola, noting that one of the decisions that the EU took when the banking fraud was revealed was to block the sector budget support.
