Following the outbreak of the energy crisis this autumn, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen swiftly offered EU assistance to support the citizens of Moldova. Today, the European Union has delivered on this promise with a payment of €60 million (1.2 billion lei) to Moldova, once again demonstrating its commitment to supporting a pro-reform Moldova and its citizens.

This support will help mitigate the socio-economic impact of the rising gas prices, in particular on vulnerable groups. In practice, it will help hundreds of thousands of Moldovan households through the winter by lowering their gas and heating bills. Beyond the immediate response to support citizens through the winter, the action will also support long-term socio-economic recovery and Moldova’s energy efficiency and security, in order to strengthen resilience to similar crises in future.

Today’s payment goes hand in hand with other EU support for the energy sector and forms part of a comprehensive EU effort to support structural reforms in the energy sector in Moldova. Recent initiatives include:

• The deployment of energy experts to Chisinau
• A major energy efficiency programme implemented together with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• The EU-Moldova High-Level Energy Dialogue, which was launched in October 2021

The payment was made after Moldova made swift progress on the related conditions, most notably by adopting an ambitious and wide-ranging crisis response plan, which will be implemented in the coming years to the benefit of all citizens. The EU will continue to stand by Moldova and assist the country in implementing the plan. Moldova has also maintained its positive reform momentum in a range of other sectors, including for example Public Finance Management.

Today’s payment builds on Team Europe’s – the EU, its Member States, and International Financial Institutions – overall support to the citizens of the country to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and build economic resilience.

Background on the EU assistance package

Budget support programmes offer grant funding to partner countries in exchange for progress on agreed reform priorities.

State and Resilience Building Contract for the Republic of Moldova (€60 million/1,2 billion Moldovan lei): This EU programme will support the Republic of Moldova to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the rising gas prices, particularly on vulnerable groups. It will strengthen the Government’s overall capacity to deliver tailor-made services to these vulnerable groups and basic services to its population, and support the long-term socio-economic recovery, energy security, and energy transition of Moldova. The programme will support targeted policy measures to reduce the impact of increasing energy costs on citizens, addressing the energy poverty of the most vulnerable in particular, and contribute to growth-enhancing policies.

For more information

Factsheet – EU-Moldova relations

EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova

Factsheet on budget support