EU to assist Moldova to mitigate impact of high energy prices - govt minister
CHISINAU. July 1 (Interfax) - The European Union will provide Moldova with technical and financial support to mitigate the impact of high energy prices on vulnerable consumers and reduce energy poverty, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Andrei Spinu said on social networks.
This support is among the agreements Moldova has managed to secure during the 2nd High Level Energy Dialogue with the EU in Brussels.
Other outcomes of the first day of the meeting include the allocation of a 300-million-euro loan to Moldova by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to purchase gas for emergency purposes and storage ahead of next winter, Moldova's incorporation into the EU Energy Platform to ensure supplies of natural and liquefied gas, the Moldovan power grid's additional mutual connection with those of Romania and Ukraine, and the completion of the Moldelectrica company's certification and separation.
"During the dialogue, the Energy Community's plans for electricity and gas markets were endorsed, with an emphasis placed on pursuing pilot projects to merge the market with Ukraine and Romania. We agreed to jointly establish a special fund to support energy efficiency projects in the housing sector and promote energy efficiency through renovating residential buildings, and also to create a regional electricity market through a merger with the Ukrainian market, based on similar prices in both countries, in line with the Action Plan drawn up with support from the Energy Community Secretariat," Spinu said.
European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said, "Following the EU Leaders' recent decision to grant the Republic of Moldova, alongside Ukraine, EU candidate country status, our relations have taken on a new dimension."
"We are already working closely together on energy issues, but we will strengthen our partnership further and prepare the Moldovan energy system for its European future," Simson said.