During the eighth year of implementation of the Association Agreement, the EU-Moldova political dialogue was strengthened and advanced, especially on the occasion of receiving the EU candidate status on June 23 2022, shows the Shadow Report “EU-Moldova Association Agreement - 8 years of implementation: Progress. Constraints. Priorities” presented by the Institute for European Policies and Reforms ((IPRE), IPN reports.
According to the report, from the end of 2021 until August 2022, the EU allocated over €340 million in the form of grants, budget support and projects, to respond to socio-economic, energy, humanitarian and security crises. The EU is also supporting strategic communication, investigative journalism and fight against disinformation through a €5 million project.
In 2022, the EU mobilized €10 million to support civil society participation in the implementation of the Association Agreement. Additionally, in July 2022, a new EU Macro-financial Assistance Program in the amount of €150 million came into force, which will contribute to the country’s efforts to deal with the repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 1 August 2022, the EU transferred the first installment of €50 million, of which €35 million in the form of long-term loans under concessional terms and €15 million in the form of grants. In addition, within the Economic and Investment Plan of the Eastern Partnership, the European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed to grant the Republic of Moldova a loan of €150 million for investments in modern highways and improving road safety and connecting Moldova to the TEN-T network. Moreover, on November 10, 2022, during the official visit to Chisinau, the President of the European Commission announced additional support for the Republic of Moldova of €250 million to tackle with the energy crisis. Thus, €200 million will be offered in the framework of a new macro-financial assistance program that will be available from January 2023 and another €50 million in the form of direct budget support.
Upon the initiative of foreign affairs ministers of Germany, France and Romania, the Support Platform for Moldova was launched in April 2022, to help Moldova in addressing numerous crises. The Platform includes the EU member states, G7 countries, international financial institutions and of international organizations as well as other development partners. During the first two conferences of the Platform, which have been held in Berlin and in Bucharest, approximately €1.3 billion have been mobilized for the next three years.
The EU-Moldova cooperation in the field of foreign and security policy was deepened and expanded. The EU-Moldova high-level dialogue on foreign and security policy was launched and the EU-Moldova political consultations in the field of security and defiance were resumed. The Republic of Moldova aligns itself with most EU Declarations and EU Council Decisions regarding international restrictive measures. Via the new European Peace Facility, the EU Council approved two programs worth €47 million for the next three years.
In the reference period, the most substantial progress was achieved in the rule of law chapter, upon approval of the Strategy on Ensuring Independence and Integrity of the Justice Sector for the years 2022-2025 and the Action Plan for its implementation. Additionally, during the given period, Law no. 26/2022 on some measures related to the selection of candidates for the position of member in the self-administration bodies of prosecutors and judges, which provides for the organization of a single procedure for evaluating the financial and ethical integrity of the candidates registered in the contest for the position of member in the Superior Council of Prosecutors, in the Superior Council of Magistracy and in the specialized subordinated boards.
Trade with the European Union was expanded and strengthened during last year. Exports of goods from the Republic of Moldova to EU member states registered an increase of USD 270 million in 2021 compared to 2020 and constituted USD 1.91 billion, which represents about 61.1% of the country's total exports for the past year. Percentagewise, the share of exports to the EU decreased by 5.4 % compared to 2020. Exports of goods for the first eight months of 2022 amounted to USD 1.75 billion, which means about 59.5% of the total exports of the Republic of Moldova.
The IPRE Shadow Report “EU-Moldova Association Agreement - 8 years of implementation: Progress. Constraints. Priorities” was developed within the IPRE Project “Monitoring the implementation of the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union”, carried out with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), and was presented in partnership with the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.
