Marcel Spatar and Dan Barna
This was stated in Brussels by Marcel Spatar, co-chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for the EU-Moldova Association, at a news conference following the 17th meeting of the committee.
The MP said that the allocation of funds depends on the implementation of a wide range of reforms, especially in the energy and justice sectors. At the same time, some of them are already behind schedule.
“The reforms also require investments from Moldova. Delays are possible – for instance, on two reforms that were scheduled for last year: the commissioning of the Vulcanesti-Chisinau high-voltage line and measures to liberalize the energy market,” Spatar said.
He specified that both lagging measures are being implemented this year, and the respective tranches will be received already this year. “It is not ideal, but if the reforms are implemented, we will not lose the funds,” he added.
In turn, MEP Dan Barna, the second co-chair of the committee, said that delays in the implementation of reforms are common, but the institutional capacity of countries grows over time.
“Romania also went through this: the absorption rate rose sharply at the end of the period. I expect the same to happen in Moldova – the delays will be compensated by an acceleration by the end of 2027. Especially since Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos called Moldova the ‘best student of the class’ in terms of speed of preparation and compliance with integration requirements,” Barna said.
