Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, Romanian), Chair of the European Parliament delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee and European Parliament co-rapporteur on the establishment of a Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova, announced on Tuesday 10 December that the aim was for the European Parliament to vote on the €1.8 billion Facility early next year. His draft report will be presented to the Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday 12 December.
“The European Parliament wants to help citizens contribute to improving Moldova’s economic situation. The aim is to adopt the Facility at the beginning of 2025 so that negotiations can be finalised quickly” with the EU Council and the Commission, so that Moldova can access the funds.
The co-rapporteur specified that he wanted to increase the percentage of funds that could be pre-financed. Thus, while the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation establishing the Facility mentions that “in order to ensure that Moldova has initial funding to implement the first reforms, it should have access, by way of pre-financing, to a maximum percentage of 7% of the total amount earmarked for financial assistance under the Facility” (see EUROPE 13501/17), Mr Mureșan wants the European Parliament to agree on 20%, before entering into negotiations with the EU Council and the Commission. “Each increase in the percentage of pre-financing is important, each percentage represents €18 million”, he said.
According to draft conclusions from the European Council on 19 December, EU leaders are expected to pledge that the EU “will continue to work closely with the Republic of Moldova to enhance the country’s resilience and stability and to support its reform efforts on its European path, including through the implementation of the Growth Plan for Moldova and the swift adoption of the Reform and Growth Facility”.
The European Council is also expected to congratulate the Moldovan authorities on the smooth running of the presidential elections and the referendum on enshrining EU accession in the Constitution, “despite hybrid attempts to undermine the country’s democratic institutions” (see EUROPE 13508/1). The European Council should also welcome the commitment of Moldovan citizens to European integration. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)