Conflicts
Baerbock: Standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and Moldova
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her counterpart from Moldova, Nicu Popescu, at the Moldova Support Platform conference at the Palace of the Republic in Chisinau. photo
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
A lot of attention is currently focused on Israel and the Middle East region. Germany and France want to ensure that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is not lost sight of.
Germany will support Moldova with energy issues, economic stabilization and reform steps towards EU accession and will provide 95 million euros for this next year, said Baerbock.
In June 2022, Moldova, like Ukraine, received EU candidate status. This December it will be decided whether accession negotiations will begin with Ukraine and Moldova. Politically, Moldova is divided between pro-European and pro-Russian forces. The country is repeatedly the target of Russian disinformation and attempts at destabilization.
Moldova’s Prime Minister Dorin Recean admitted that expectations of a more solid budget had not yet been met. However, the aim is to improve energy security and efficiency. To this end, Moldova will present an ambitious plan to reduce energy imports and achieve climate and efficiency goals.
Paris: Russian war continues to send shockwaves
France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Russia’s war of aggression “continues to send shockwaves across Europe and beyond.” European and international aid for Moldova is therefore more necessary than ever in order to mitigate the effects of the war on the population and to help revive the economy.
The Moldova platform was launched in April 2022 by Baerbock together with France and Romania in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine. At three donor conferences in Berlin, Bucharest and Paris in 2022, more than one billion euros were raised for Moldova. According to the World Bank, Moldova had an economic output of a good 14 billion US dollars last year.
Supporter platform should become an EU partnership forum
Baerbock said that the previous supporter platform should be converted into a partnership platform. They want to continue to support Moldova’s reform steps, particularly in building institutions, but also in stabilizing the energy supply. Shortly before winter, it is “important that energy cannot be used again as a weapon against Ukraine, but also not against Moldova.”
Project for more energy independence
In the presence of Baerbock and Colonna, a declaration of intent was signed on a project for better energy efficiency in public buildings in the health and education sectors. The aim is to achieve greater energy independence, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and a reduction in energy expenditure. The German state development bank KfW is expected to contribute up to 38.7 million euros as a grant to the project. France’s financial contribution amounts to 30 million euros in long-term loans. If the project is examined positively, it could probably start at the end of 2024.