EU offers seven million euros to back Moldova's regional development
Acting Prime Minister Vlad Filat and the head of the EU delegation to Moldova, Ambassador Dirk Schuebel held on March 18, 2013 a joint news conference on the signing of the financing agreement of the Pilot Regional Development Programme (PRDP), the government’s communication and media relations department has reported.
Filat said regional development was one of the government’s priorities. According to him, this sector is permanently brought to the attention of authorities and development partners, whereas signed document is a solid proof in this respect.
«Due to this document, Moldova would be able to receive seven million euros from the EU, within the National Action Plan 2012 to implement the Pilot Regional Development Programme. The programme is generally meant to offer support in order to boost up economic, social and territorial cohesion, focusing on the development of policies, the legislative and institutional framework in order to ensure Moldova's efficient regional development,» the acting prime minister said.
Filat also spoke about the actions authorities had taken in order to improve the regional development. He pointed out that authorities had approved a decision-in-principle to create six development regions, including North, Centre, South, Chisinau, the Gagauz autonomy and the Transnistrian region.
The acting prime minister said the programme was meant to obtain progress in five sectors and mainly to improve regional statistics and adjust them to the Eurostat standards, to elaborate detailed regional plans meant to cover five topical sectors that are essential to regional development (water and sewerage, solid waste management, key local and regional roads, infrastructure and support for entrepreneurs, energy efficiency in public buildings), to elaborate up-to-date operational regional plans for each region apart and create functioning regional development institutions. The programme would also create a list of projects that need to be financed and implemented in all of the five topical sectors as well as to provide responsible institutions with consolidated abilities(Regional Development Agencies, Consumer Protection Agencies, Local Public Administrations and the civil society).
Vlad Filat thanked Ambassador Dirk Schuebel for his attitude and for constantly backing Moldova’s regional and national development process.
For his part, Schuebel said event proved once again the EU’s support for Moldova.
The EU official said the Pilot Regional Development Programme had been especially elaborated for Moldova. He voiced hope that Moldova would further be successful in this sector.
The Pilot Regional Development Programme is made of two parts. The first part implies the use of a 2-million-euro grant to improve the regional development statistics, whereas the second component provides actions meant to improve regional planning and elaborate a list of investment projects, including technical documentation and feasibility studies, ready to be implemented. The EU allocated five million euros for the second part of the project. The Pilot Regional Development Programme is a result of the EU Communiqué from 2008 on regional development in compliance with the EU’s cohesion policy model. Three TACIS projects and several bilateral donors took actions to implement similar actions in Moldova.
Adapted from MOLDPRES