Measured in terms of population and economic power, no neighboring country of Ukraine took in more war refugees than the Republic of Moldova after the Russian attack. And no country is so threatened in its own stability by the war. This is the driving force behind the Moldova Conference, to which Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, together with her colleagues from France and Romania, Jean-Yves le Drian and Bogdan Aurescu, invited in Berlin on Tuesday.
Baerbock visited Moldova three weeks ago and then, together with her colleagues, took the initiative for a so-called support platform. It is now providing emergency aid to the country, which is located between Romania and Ukraine and has a population of 2.6 million, in order to ensure that the refugees are cared for. At the same time, the representatives of 36 states and heads of nine international organizations who accepted the invitation want to cushion the economic damage caused by the war and provide long-term support for political reforms and development; Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe.
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You are now providing the government in Chișinău, represented by Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița, with 71 million euros for humanitarian aid to care for refugees. At the same time, they agreed to fly out 12,000 Ukrainians. According to Gavrilița, a total of 400,000 people from the neighboring country have taken refuge in Moldova; about 100,000 are still there. Baerbock had already agreed to bring 2,500 people to Germany; a third charter flight is planned for the weekend. The Europeans also want to help Moldova control its borders. To this end, Germany is providing thermal imaging cameras and technical equipment for checking documents.
695 million euros in loans and budget support
In order to strengthen the country’s financial resilience and promote economic development, donors are granting Moldova a further EUR 695 million, mainly in the form of loans and budget support. The federal government is involved with an untied instant loan of 50 million euros. “We met today to make it clear that Moldova is not alone,” said Baerbock. The conference was also “a clear message: No country is available, no country is Russia’s backyard.”
A schoolchild in the village of Sireți: Moldova only has 2.6 million inhabitants – and has already temporarily taken in around 400,000 refugees.
(Photo: DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP)
These financial commitments will be accompanied by the establishment of international thematic working groups to provide political and technical advice to Moldova. A pressing issue is gas and electricity supply, for which the country is currently almost entirely dependent on Russia. The only large-scale gas-fired power plant is in the breakaway region of Transnistria, which is controlled by Russian troops. After the current pro-European government replaced the pro-Moscow-oriented previous government in the elections, Russia has increased gas prices many times over.
The states gathered in Berlin also announced that they would support the Moldovan government in implementing the planned reforms. Above all, this includes strengthening the judiciary and the rule of law, fighting corruption and sustainable economic development.
Sales markets are disappearing in Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine
Prime Minister Gavrilița pointed out that her country was already in a difficult situation before the Russian attack on Ukraine, triggered by the Covid pandemic, the sharp rise in energy prices and high inflation. Moldova now not only has to take care of the refugees, who currently make up four percent of the population, the country is also suffering greatly from the fact that important sales markets are disappearing in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and trade with the rest of the world due to the blockade of the Black Sea Odessa port is cut off by the Russian Navy.
She asked for easier imports into the EU and to speed up her country’s accession. Romanian Foreign Minister Aurescu suggested setting up a support group for Moldova in the EU. At the same time, he warned that the war in Ukraine not only endangered Moldova’s stability, but also had negative consequences for the entire region and posed “challenges for Euro-Atlantic security.” Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said he was not only looking at Moldova, but also at the South Caucasus and the Western Balkans.