Rarely has Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, landlocked between Romania and Ukraine, been the subject of such attention on the international scene. For the third time in eight months, this small country of 2.6 million inhabitants, collateral victim of the war in Ukraine, was at the heart of an international aid conference, Monday, November 21 in Paris. After Berlin in March and Bucharest in July, the 3e international support platform for Moldova, co-chaired by France, Germany and Romania, brought together thirty-four countries, including the United States, and fifteen international organizations to help this former Soviet republic overcome the consequences of the Russian invasion of its neighbour.
Official EU candidate
The objective was twofold: to provide emergency aid to the population to get through the winter when the country is plunged into its worst energy crisis for thirty years, and to accompany Chisinau on the road to accession to the European Union. , five months after it obtained – at the same time as Ukraine – the status of official candidate for the EU. “Russia has cut off much of the gas it usually delivers to Moldova [les approvisionnements russes, dont le pays était extrêmement dépendant, ont chuté de moitié] and, moreover, electricity exports from Ukraine are no longer possible due to the bombing of Ukrainian infrastructure”recalled the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna.
Moldova also had to deal with the massive influx of Ukrainian refugees. In relation to the number of inhabitants, it is the European country that hosts the most: 90,000, the vast majority of whom are accommodated with locals or in private structures. And with winter and power cuts in Ukraine, Chisinau expects a new influx.
Convinced that Moldova’s security now conditions that of Europe, France announced on Monday new aid of more than 100 million euros, including 10 million in immediate bilateral aid and 90 million provided by the French Agency for development to invest in the next two years. “We have to make sure that our eastern flank can resist pressure from Russia, because if it gives in, it’s the domino theory: we’ll all be weakened”, explains a French diplomatic source. At the two previous meetings in Berlin and Bucharest, Paris had pledged to pay 137 million euros, including 75 million in loans disbursed by the end of 2022.
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