October 11 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) said on Thursday it has disbursed a second installment of 50 million euro ($57.8 million) in macro-financial assistance to Moldova.
The financing comes entirely from the EU's 3 billion euro emergency micro-financial assistance package, which aims to help businesses respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EC said in a press release on Friday.
According to the Commission, Moldova has made remarkable progress in completing the policy conditions agreed with the EU for the release of this second and final 50 million euro disbursement under its current COVID-19 MFA programme. These included important measures to improve public finance management in the health sector, fight against corruption, measures to strengthen good governance and the rule of law, as well as to improve the business climate.
Moldova continues to satisfy the pre-conditions as regards the respect of human rights and effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system and the rule of law, the EC added.
The first 50 million euro disbursement to Moldova under the MFA programme was made in November 2020.
"This is a concrete demonstration of the EU's commitment to helping Moldova respond to the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds, released following the fulfilment of agreed policy commitments, acknowledge the progress the country is making in implementing the measures needed to secure a more stable and prosperous future," Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said.
The COVID-19 MFA programme for Moldova is part of a comprehensive effort by the EU to help mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic and accelerate the recovery.
The new MFA disbursement comes shortly after the release of 36.4 million euro grant of budget support as part of the EU Economic Recovery Plan for Moldova of up to 600 million euro for the next three years.
($=0.8655 euro)