On Tuesday 17 December, the Council of the European Union formally adopted its negotiating position on the proposal for a regulation establishing a ‘Reform and Growth Facility for Moldova’, worth €1.8 billion (including €285 million in grants) over the 2025-2027.
The Facility will support a reform programme that the Moldovan authorities will develop and implement in exchange for financial assistance. In particular, as a candidate country for EU membership, Moldova will be encouraged to align its legislation with the acquis communautaire.
According to the text agreed by the Member States, the Council is placing greater emphasis on measures to mitigate the challenges for Moldova arising from the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and Russian attempts to destabilise the country.
The Member States are strengthening the role of the Council in the governance of the Facility, according to a press release from the EU institution. This concerns in particular the adoption and modification of Moldova’s reform programme, the monitoring of compliance with the preconditions for EU support and the assessment of compliance with payment conditions.
The Commission nevertheless remains empowered to assess and approve Moldova’s reform agenda.
It should be noted that up to 7% of the funds may be pre-financed.
It will be up to the next Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU to negotiate with the European Parliament in early 2025 to reach a final agreement on the Facility. The European Parliament’s co-rapporteurs, Sven Mikser (S&D, Estonian) and Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, Romanian), recently presented their draft report.
See the text approved by the Council of the EU: https://aeur.eu/f/ev0 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)