The EU Parliament and Council reached political agreement on a new EUR 1.9 billion facility to accelerate Moldova’s reforms, strengthen resilience, and advance its EU integration in the face of the threat from Russian aggression.
“We are determined to support Moldova on its path towards EU accession, it’s our duty in these turbulent times,” said Poland’s Minister for European Affairs Adam Szlapka, for the EU presidency: “This package will help Moldovans to implement key reforms, strengthen their economy and advance its integration to the EU’s single market. It will also support Moldova’s resilience in response to the impact caused by the Russian’s unjust war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The Regulation to establish a Reform and Growth Facility for Moldova centres on improvements to a new support facility and focuses on better financing and democratic oversight. But a key aim is also to mitigate the impact on Moldova of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine for its security, economy, and citizens’ livelihoods.
Key improvements include:
- Increased grant-based support, allocating €520 million in grants – a €100 million increase compared to initial proposals – alongside €1.5 billion in low-interest loans. This adjustment ensures Moldova can implement reforms without unsustainable debt accumulation.
- Accelerated funding access, providing 18% pre-financing, up from 7% originally, of total support, enabling rapid deployment of resources to address energy security, anti-corruption infrastructure, and public service modernisation.
- Administrative capacity building, with a dedicated 20% of grant funds to strengthen Moldova’s institutions through digital governance systems, civil service training, and judicial reforms – prerequisites for effective EU fund management.
- Reinforced oversight framework, establishing a Dialogue between the EU Parliament and the Commission to review implementation progress regularly.
Additional voluntary contributions were also agreed in the form of external assigned revenue from other donors such as international financing organisations for further financial support to Moldova, and that the Facility shall not support activities or measures which undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova.
Regulation proposal Moldova Reform and Growth Facility
