Proposal for a Decision amending Decision (EU) 2022/563 as regards the amount of macro-financial assistance to the Republic of Moldova

Summary:

Legislative initiative - adopted by the European Commission on 24 January 2023 - introducing amendments to Decision (EU) 2022/563 as regards the amount of macro-financial assistance to Moldova.

Further information:

Decision (EU) 2022/563 established a new emergency Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) programme for Moldova. However, the circumstances underlying Moldova's programme further worsened - the country is both directly and indirectly affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which came on top of an energy crisis. Moreover, thousands of people crossed the Moldovan border since the start of the war, which added pressure on Moldova's public finances. The overall macroeconomic position weakened further in 2022. Presenting limited buffers to mitigate the crisis, Moldova requested further assistance from international partners. The proposed increase comes as part of larger EU and international assistance for Moldova.

The existing MFA programme was requested by Moldova in November 2021. It was adopted by the co-legislators in April 2022 and it entered into force in July 2022. The operation was made available in combination with a new arrangement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was adopted in December 2021 and expanded in May 2022. Notwithstanding the existing assistance to Moldova, the worsening circumstances led the financial gap for 2023 to increase by €430 million.

The draft Decision proposes an increase of the existing MFA programme by €145 million, of which €100 million in loans and €45 million in grants. The additional assistance would be disbursed in two new installments, linked a series of policy conditions. The proposal was tabled by the European Commission on 24 January 2023.

• Primary Source

Official

EUR-LEX: SWD(2023)25: Staff Working Document accompanying the Proposal - Ex-Ante Evaluation Statement https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=SWD:2023:25:FIN

European Commission: International Economic Relations: Neighbourhood Countries: Moldova https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/international-economic-relations/candidate-and-neighbouring-countries/neighbouring-countries-eu/neighbourhood-countries/moldova_en

European Commission: Press Release, 24/01/2023: EU-Moldova: Commission proposes to increase Macro-financial Assistance for Moldova by up to €145 million https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_343

EU EEAS: EU Delegation to Moldova: News, 24/01/2023: EU-Moldova: Commission proposes to increase Macro-financial Assistance for Moldova by up to €145 million https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/moldova/eu-moldova-commission-proposes-increase-macro-financial-assistance-moldova-%E2%82%AC145_en

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