| SUPPORT FOR THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA 18/03/2010 |
| (2010-03-18) |
| Last updated: 2010-03-19 15:23 EET |
The new pro-Western government, which came to power in autumn, said they would operate deep reforms, managing to convince the IMF to provide it with loan worth 600 million Euro. The US also agreed to provide a loan, in their case worth 262 million dollars. The agreement was signed when prime minister Vlad Filat paid a visit to Washington. Even though it is itself hard hit by the economic crunch, Romania signed up to give financial support to its neighbor, considered by experts as the poorest in Europe. Starting in late January, when president Traian Basescu inaugurated his new term in office with a visit to Chisinau, Bucharest offered the Republic of Moldova a non-reimbursable loan worth 100 million Euro.
On Wednesday, the Filat cabinet ratified an inter-governmental agreement on the loan, deciding it will be provided in four installments over four years, and will be spent in developing the infrastructure, education, and possibly agriculture. The financial aid, however, is just one of the ways in which Romania supports its neighbor. Another, previous agreement on small-scale cross-border trade allows Moldovan citizens living no more than 50 km from the border, that is, about a quarter of the total population of the Republic, to come to Romania without a visa, presenting a simple permit. In Brussels, upon the initiative of the new Romanian foreign minister, Teodor Baconschi, an informal group of European states was created to provide support to Moldova, open to all member states who want to support democracy in the eastern neighbor of the EU.
The foreign policy committees in the Romanian and Moldovan parliaments have also agreed on a program of concrete action, from assistance in translating and implementing the community acquis to common economic projects supported with European funds. The two states seem to want to make up in a few months for the eight years wasted by the former communist power in Moldova, whose dislike of Romania had paralyzed bilateral relations, condemning Moldovan citizens to poverty and isolation.
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2025-04-03
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