EU to change financing procedure for Moldova as of 2007

The year of 2007 will be a witness to Moldova’s passing to a new instrument of financing by European Union (UE), which will replace TACIS. As part of this program, Moldova will place on second position as regards the volume of assistance among the countries for which the Neighborhood European Policy is offered, minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Andrei Stratan, stated Thursday on November 2. The essential advantage of the new instrument of financing consists in the fact that it will target only at the technical assistance. About half of sum will be used for supporting national budget, a fact that is very important in the present situation for Moldova, Stratan said. Head of the Moldovan diplomacy has also announced that at the Moldova-EU Cooperation Committee, which was recently held, Brussels appreciated on the whole the Moldova’s evolutions in the process of implementing the Plan of Actions. According to Stratan, EU welcomed the actions taken as concerns the economic and political reforms, adoption of laws aiming at reforming the judicial system, fair cooperation with the EU Border Assistance Mission, relations with IMF etc. At the same time, the European Commission mentioned the necessity of ensuring the implementation of all legislative and normative reforms that were adopted, because even the implementation is the basic indicator for assessing the level of carrying out the reforms reflected in the Plan of Actions. As regards the opening of the common Center for issuing visas in the EU to the Moldovan citizens, Stratan said that certain states have already voiced their willingness to contribute in this respect, so at present the EU sketches the final document, according to which the decision to open this Center in Chisinau would be adopted.