The additional support offered by the European Union to the Transnistrian region, in the amount of €60 million, will cover 70% of the social consumption that the left bank had before the crisis. However, the assistance will be provided if the Transnistrian region meets a number of conditions, said Prime Minister Dorin Recean, quoted by IPN.
The Transnistrian administration must work out a plan, coordinated and accepted by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, through which the electricity charges in the Transnistrian region will be adjusted to market prices. Large companies exporting products will have to pay market prices for electricity, and industrial giants will be excluded from the support package.
Also, concrete actions will be required to ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the region.
The package announced on Tuesday by the EU also includes support for the right bank. The medium-term aid for the population, worth €250 million, will go to pay electricity compensations for the entire population of the Republic of Moldova until December 2025. Each family will pay the first 110 KWh consumed at the previous charge, not the new, higher one. This aid will amount to a total of €151 million.
In the medium term, €15 million will be offered as compensation for businesses, in addition to the aid provided by the Government.
The €250 million will also be used to cover the increase in electricity bills for institutions of social importance, such as schools, kindergartens, hospitals, social centers. €20 million is provided for this measure. Additional funding, totaling €50 million, will be intended for energy efficiency projects, and an additional fund will be created to provide one-off payments to vulnerable people.
It is an action plan for the next two years, which includes the improvement of energy efficiency of buildings, expansion of share of renewable energy, energy storage solutions, completion of interconnection lines.
"When false friends turn off the gas, the true European friends open their arms and turn on aid. We will continue to work together with our partners in the European Union to ensure the definitive independence of the entire country from gas blackmail," said Prime Minister Dorin Recean.
"The strategy we agreed today will help bring Moldova to the EU faster, integrating Moldova into the EU energy system. Making Moldova more energy resilient and independent, and promoting energy efficient investments," said European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.
The EU Energy Support Package is based on a strategy that will unfold in three steps. Under the first step, the European Commission has already provided €30 million EU emergency support. €10 million will allow Moldova to purchase electricity on the European markets for the right bank, which will help lower consumer prices. €20 million are used for the emergency purchase of gas for meeting the basic needs of the population in the Transnistrian region. The second step will entail €100 million in further financial support to Moldova until mid-April to alleviate higher energy bills for consumers on the right bank. Under the third step, the Commission and international partners will finance actions and investments in Moldova's energy resilience and independence as well as support to lower energy costs for all Moldovans. The actions will be included in the Reform Agenda under the Moldova Growth Plan and implemented until the end of 2026.
