European Commission announces urgent assistance to Moldova, including Transdniestria, due to energy crisis

BRUSSELS. Jan 27 (Interfax) - The European Union will provide a package of emergency assistance in an amount of 30 million euros as the first step to help Moldova overcome the energy crisis, the European Commission said in a release issued on Monday.

"We will deliver gas to the people of Transdniestria and restore their access to electricity and heating," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The European Commission is blaming Gazprom for this situation.

The release states that by this package "the EU stands ready to finance the purchase and transport of natural gas to the Transdniestrian region, to help restore electricity and heating for the region's more than 350.000 inhabitants until February 10, 2025."

"In addition to facilitating the purchase and transport of gas to Transdniestria, the EU is committed to deliver in the next weeks a financial support package for Moldova aiming to mitigate the social consequences of the crisis for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, while laying the groundwork for long-term energy resilience and economic growth in Moldova," the document said.

This assistance will help "avoid further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and provide natural gas to cover the immediate needs," Brussels said.

The possibility of assistance by supplying coal from Ukraine is also being studied. Besides assistance to the procurement and transportation of gas, the European Union supports the provision of transportation capacity on the entire gas supply route from Bulgaria and Romania to the points of entry in the Moldovan gas transportation system the European Commission said.