July 26 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) has signed three financing agreements with a combined value of 40.25 million euro ($44.8 million) to allow for the implementation of programmes in Moldova, EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said.
The EU Commission will provide 23 million euro to boost social-economic development in the regions of Ungheni and Cahul by providing support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), local actors, and civil society as well as funding the development of small-scale infrastructure, Hahn said on Wednesday, as quoted in a statement by the EC.
"Through this programme, we want to strengthen local governance by empowering civil society, private sector and ultimately citizens to be more involved in the decision-making. It is worth noting that mayors of those two regions – Cahul and Ungheni, made a public declaration to respect the principles of good governance and anti-corruption," Hahn said at a news conference following a meeting with Moldova's prime minister Maia Sandu in Brussels.
The EU will also contribute to the prevention and fight against corruption with 8 million euro programme aimed at increasing the level of citizens’ participation in the decision making and strengthening anti-corruption mechanisms, Hahn said.
Moreover, with a 9.25 million euro funding, the EU will support the implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement through two programmes -- promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment through strengthened implementation of gender mainstreaming in local public policies; and combating domestic violence affecting women and children, Hahn noted.
The EU will also further promote the international exchange of students through the Erasmus+ programme and fund more mobility opportunities for Moldovan researchers with the aim to further scientific excellence in Moldova and increase their competitiveness in EU programmes such as Horizon 2020, he added.
Earlier this week, the EU Commission said it disbursed 15 million euro to Moldova to support the implementation of the EU-Moldova free trade agreement, to finance vocational education training and to assist the implementation of the visa liberalisation action plan.
($ = 0.8983 euro)