If the purchase prices of natural gas and electricity increase considerably, €1 billion will be needed for the national subsidization program, said the deputy head of the Parliament’s commission for economy, budget and finance Radu Marian. According to the PAS MP, the available funds are enough to pay subsidies for 2022 only, but the authorities estimate that the money promised by the country’s foreign partners will be transferred during the first months of next year, IPN reports.
According to the MP, the sum of 5 billion lei announced for the 2022-2023 subsidization program was calculated based on the current charges. If the prices increase significantly, the authorities will need a twice larger amount to help the citizens pay their bills.
“We are also considering the worst scenarios. Under the worst scenario, we will need €1 billion for subsidies. If the cost of natural gas is €100 million a month and the cost of electricity is €100 million a month, in five months we will reach an amount of €1 billion. We are very grateful for the support we are offered, but we need to identify more resources. However, it should be clear that a large part of the money for this effort comes from the state budget. For 2022, we have the necessary resources. We estimate that a large part of the money promised by the foreign partners will come next year already,” Radu Marian stated in the program “Résumé” on RliveTV channel.
Expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” Veaceslav Ioniță said that in the absence of state budget revenues and amid disadvantageous lending conditions at banks, the Government has to look for non-reimbursable financial assistance.
“The current budgetary year is very severe. Last year was beneficial as the revenues grew, but this year they will not rise. Furthermore, it is very hard to borrow money domestically as the interest rate is very high. Last year, it was 5.5%, but now it is 24%. The Government now only relends internally and we have a lot of foreign grants. In August, we had the largest infusion of money into the budget – US$320 million that came during one month in the form of grants and loans. In November and December, more foreign aid will come to help us pay pensions and salaries. This will be the eighth year that the Government will be unable to cover all the panned costs. The Government plans particular costs, but then starts to cut investments if there is not enough money,” stated Veaceslav Ioniță.
International donors pledged more than €100 million to help Moldova deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron announced investments of €85 million in Moldova’s energy sector. Germany pledged about €32.3 million in financial assistance, while German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze said that besides this sum, Berlin would offer €28.7 million for strengthening energy efficiency of buildings in Moldova. Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova Nicu Popescu said the international donors decided to offer financial support to Moldova and also assistance in the form of projects and equipment and an exhaustive list of the pledged aid will be presented in the near future.
Representatives of 45 countries and institutions gathered in Paris for the third ministerial conference of the Moldova Support Platform to increase and consolidate their promised support to Moldova. At the first two similar conferences held earlier this year in Berlin and Bucharest, Moldova obtained €650 million in financial support.
