The European Commission and Moldova signed a two-year strategy for energy independence and resilience, allocating 250 million euros ($258 million) to Chisinau in 2025, the commission said on Feb. 4.
In addition to this overall support, 60 million euros ($62 million) are made available — under conditions — to Transnistria, a Russian-occupied region of Moldova facing energy shortages since Russia's Gazprom cut off gas supplies.
The Russian energy giant halted the gas flow to Moldova in January, just as Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas through its territory. Gazprom claimed its decision was based on an alleged unpaid debt by Chisinau rather than transit issues.
The EU's support for Moldova, 100 million euros ($103 million) of which will be provided by mid-April, aims at "decoupling Moldova from the insecurities of Russian energy supply and fully integrating it in the EU energy market," the commission's statement read.
Moldova, currently leading talks on EU accession, has already pivoted toward European gas supplies but receives electricity from the Transnistria Kuciurgan power plant, which, in turn, is reliant on Russian gas.
The EU's offer to Transnistria is subject to conditions that the local authorities take steps on "fundamental freedoms and human rights" and that the aid will not involve any "energy intensive activities."
As the first step of the strategy, the EU has already provided 30 million euros ($31 million) to Moldova that were announced on Jan. 27. The final step of the plan will entail investments in Moldova's energy resilience and independence, which will be included in the EU's Growth Plan for Moldova and implemented by 2026.
Oleg Sukhov
