The first tranche of the €1.8 billion financial support package, announced in Chisinau by Ursula von der Leyen, will come in 2025, Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan announced during the show "Resumé" on RliveTV channel. The European official said that the first tranche will be granted until the 2025 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova, but the absorption of the other tranches will depend on the political configuration in Parliament and the presence of a pro-European government in Chisinau, IPN reports.
MEP Siegfried Muresan explained that the €1.8 billion promised to Chisinau by the head of the European Commission will be granted in several installments. Initially, the financial support package must be approved by the European institutions.
"The European Commission proposed this package. It must be adopted by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. I amin charge in the European Parliament. We will start work the coming weeks. We already have preparatory meetings. I think we will give the final vote at the beginning of 2025. After that, the Government of the Republic of Moldova must present to the European Commission a reform agenda because it is a support package aimed at the construction of two hospitals, one in Balti and the other one in Cahul, building of kindergartens, energy infrastructure. But, in parallel, reforms will also be implemented to ensure that the Republic of Moldova becomes stronger and more resilient. So, we adopt the law at the beginning of 2025, then the Government must tell us how it intends to implement it, what investments it will make and what reforms it will do," said Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan.
According to him, the first tranche could reach the Republic of Moldova before the 2025 parliamentary elections. Siegfired Mureșan pointed out that, after the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova, the disbursement of the other tranches will depend on the existence of a pro-European government in Chisinau.
"I believe that the first payment will be made in the first half of 2025. It is possible that the first payment will be made before the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova. For us the electoral calendar is not important. The money does not have a political purpose. It is obvious that if there is an anti-European majority in the future Parliament that does not respect the European rules, the European Commission will not be able to make subsequent payments. It is clear that an anti-European Government will not be able to make use of these funds. With an anti-European Government, the Republic of Moldova risks losing a large part of these funds. But we are not in this situation at the moment. We have a pro-European government and we want the money to start to be absorbed with this government, as soon as we adopt the law in the European Parliament," stated Siegfried Mureșan.
On October 10, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced in Chisinau a €1.8 billion financial support package. €1.5 billion of this sum represent loans granted on preferential terms, and the rest of the amount is non-reimbursable financial assistance.
