European Parliament's Committee on Budget voted in favor of a package of amendments to the EU budget for 2024, among which an increase in financial assistance to Moldova and Ukraine. The exact amounts of additional EU funding for these two candidate states for EU accession and countries that suffered the most from the war in Ukraine is still unknown.
According to the Head of the European Parliament's delegation to the Parliamentary Committee for the EU-Moldova Association, Siegfried Muresa, the European Parliament might reallocate 600 million euros from the Neighbourhood Instrument for Moldova after the creation of a special Fund for Ukraine in the context of the revision of the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework until 2027. A new fund - a financial instrument worth about 50 billion euros - is planned to be created to support Ukrainian citizens and authorities. The money will be made available to Ukraine in the second half of the current EU Multiannual Financial Framework, i.e. 2024-2027. "Once this special financial instrument is created, the funds initially allocated in the EU budget to support Ukraine in 2024-2027 will become available for other investments. This amount is estimated at around 600 million euros from the EU's Neighborhood Instrument. In the amendment I have tabled to the draft regulation, I ask that this money be made available to EU candidate countries on the edge of the war in Ukraine. At the moment, the only candidate country on the border with Ukraine is Moldova," Siegfried Muresan said.
Earlier, the EU has already decided to redirect 135 million euros, initially planned for programs with Russia and Belarus, to strengthen cooperation with Moldova and Ukraine. The European Commission adopted this decision, approving the transfer of 135 million euros from the Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, originally planned for Interreg NEXT programs with Russia and Belarus for 2021-2027, to other Interreg programs with Moldova and Ukraine.
Siegfried Muresan also said that the EU has mobilized more than 1.2 billion euros in grants and soft loans for Moldova from October 2021 until now. This money was allocated for the most important needs of Moldova and its citizens, such as macro-financial stabilization of the country, measures to support people affected by the rise in energy prices, measures to improve security in the context of security threats caused by the war in Ukraine, as well as for investments in the country's modernization, in infrastructure and in the transition to a green economy, etc.