Strasbourg, 23/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - The Commission is ready to support the Republic of Moldova by means of macro-financial aid, if agreement can be concluded between Moldova and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Commissioner Leonard Orban said on Thursday 22 October.
Speaking in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Orban said the EU macro-economic aid was “only possible once agreement of the support programme is reached between the beneficiary country and the IMF”. He added that IMF representatives were in Chiºinãu that very day and that “we are looking forward to their final report. It's not possible to make final progress in preparing the macro-financial aid programme without that”. This aid will seek to only to stabilise the fiscal deficit, he said, but also to support industrial activity in the most important sectors. Modovan industry and agriculture have been severely affected by the economic crisis. The Commissioner reassured MEPs that, once the Commission has received the IMF report, it will work to finalise the macro-financial plan as quickly as possible, so that Parliamentary approval can thereafter be sought.
The Commissioner also expressed his optimism over the re-opening of the thorny issue of Transnistria, a region of half a million inhabitants bordering on Ukraine, which declared itself independent in 1992 after almost two years of fighting. “The new government (Ed.: elected in July of this year) has given its backing in principle for the re-opening of negotiations,” he said. Resolution of the territorial conflict, along with political and economic reform, are essential if Moldova's candidacy for accession to the EU is to progress, Commissioner Orban stated. A Council action plan for Moldova has been in place since 2005. (C.D./transl.rt)