Vasile Tofan
“Obviously, we don’t have that kind of money. Now, I think the challenge for our government is how to help those who need it most. Because every leu we give out, we have to take it from somewhere anyway—whether from teachers, farmers, or road maintenance; we have to take that leu from somewhere,” Tofan said on Moldova 1.
The prime minister says that authorities are preparing several scenarios regarding the number of beneficiaries. While in previous years the compensation reached the majority of households, this year the government is considering a more strictly targeted scheme.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to help 80% of households, but I do believe that, at the very least, the people who need it most [will be helped]. Right now, I can’t tell you whether we need to help the most vulnerable 30%, 40%, or 50%. But we’ll come up with a series of scenarios and see how much money we have available.”
To supplement the available funds, the authorities are seeking financial support from European partners. According to the prime minister, these are grants that could be directed toward paying compensation.
“We are currently engaged in intensive economic diplomacy; we are trying to convince some partners to give us some money so that we can provide compensation to the people.”
In 2023, out of approximately 900,000 compensation claims filed, 895,000 were approved. Last year, 621,000 households out of approximately 800,000 deemed potentially eligible received assistance. The government will determine the exact number of beneficiaries after calculating the available resources:
“But I want to assure you that the most vulnerable people will certainly be covered and will not feel the impact of these price increases.”
