Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Moldova Lilia Dabija signed on Tuesday, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Dorin Recean, an agreement in Chisinau, associating the Republic of Moldova with the Mechanism for the Interconnection of Europe (MIE).
This agreement will allow project promoters from the Republic of Moldova to request funding from the EU for projects of common interest in the fields of transport, energy and the digital field, aimed at improving the connectivity of this country with its EU neighbors. The agreement will support the integration of the Republic of Moldova on the EU single market, while promoting economic growth, job creation and competitiveness.
The Republic of Moldova was strongly affected by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The EU remains in solidarity with the Republic of Moldova and is committed to further strengthening its resilience. The agreement signed on Tuesday brings the Republic of Moldova even closer to the EU, through its inclusion in the interconnected trans-European networks, according to Agerpres.
Regarding transport, the authorities and companies from the Republic of Moldova will be able to apply for funding in the context of future requests for proposals under the “Transport” component of the MIE (MIE – Transport) from the current programming period (2021-2027). The next call for proposals will be launched in September 2023. Eligibility criteria for third countries will apply in accordance with the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation. Priority is given to actions that strengthen the connectivity between the central network of the member states and the network in third countries.
In terms of energy, energy infrastructure projects from the Republic of Moldova connected with EU member states have the possibility to request the status of projects of mutual interest (“Projects of Mutual Interest”, PMI), based on the revised EU rules on energy infrastructure. The PMI is a new concept introduced by the revised Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E) Regulation to allow infrastructure projects connecting third countries to the EU to benefit from simplified authorization procedures and better access to financing.
Obtaining this status is a prerequisite for eligibility for financing under the “Energy” component of the MIE (MIE – Energy). Thanks to Tuesday’s agreement, new funds will become available for these projects in the Republic of Moldova. In November 2023, the Commission will publish the next Union list containing projects of common interest (PCI) and, for the first time, PMIs with third countries. Another option available to the Republic of Moldova to benefit from support from the MIE – Energy are cross-border projects in the field of energy from renewable sources.
The digital component of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF – Digital) provides support for connectivity projects of common interest, in particular for trunk networks linking the EU with third countries, in line with the “Global Gateway” strategy, as well as for the development of a secure infrastructure , secure and sustainable high performance, including gigabit networks and fifth generation (5G) mobile networks. As soon as the next calls for proposals from the MIE – Digital will be launched, project promoters from the Republic of Moldova will be able to request co-financing for projects aimed at increasing the capacity, security and resilience of digital connectivity between the Republic of Moldova and neighboring EU countries.
The Connecting Europe Facility contributes greatly to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Digital Decade 2023 to promote digitization and the creation of greener and more sustainable trans-European networks in the energy and transport sectors. For this purpose, the MIE 2021-2027 program provides for various financial contributions, mainly in the form of grants, with different co-financing rates, depending on the type of project. Within the MIE – Transport, 25.8 billion euros will be made available for grants from the EU budget for the period 2021-2027 intended to co-finance some projects in the field of transport in the EU member states.
Within the MIE – Energy, 5.8 billion euros will be made available for the co-financing of projects of common interest based on the TEN-E Regulation, as well as cross-border projects in the field of energy from renewable sources. MIE – Digital will invest 2 billion euros in European connectivity infrastructures and will stimulate the implementation and adoption by local communities of 5G networks.